As the whispers on the possibility of early parliamentary polls grew louder in political circles on Monday, the BJP sought to counter the UPA on two issues.
Saffron party tries to woo back Hindu voters
NEW DELHI: As the whispers on the possibility of early parliamentary polls grew louder in political circles on Monday, the BJP sought to counter the UPA on two issues. The saffron party is linking Ram Setu with Hindu beliefs and the projecting itself as sympathiser of the north Indians, particularly those from Bihar and UP, the two states that sends around one-fourth of the total number of MPs to Lok Sabha.
Referring to the recent violence against north Indians in Maharashtra, the party strongly defended their rights, both in parliament and outside. Even though the BJP speakers did not name Raj Thackeray, their statements were clearly directed against him. BJP MP Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said the MNS chief’s statements and action amounted to treason but the UPA government chose to ignore it for political reasons.
Later, the BJP parliamentary party spokesman VK Malhotra took up the issue again. “No Indian citizen can be thrown out of any part of the country. That’s against the spirit of the constitution. Violence is perpetrated against the north Indians in Assam and Maharashtra, the two states where the Congress is in power. The illegal Bangladeshi immigrants should be thrown out of the country, but that is not being done.”
In its bid to consolidate Hindu votes, at least a sizeable portion of it, the BJP is trying to keep the Ram setu issue alive. The immediate provocation is the UPA government’s affidavit in Supreme Court saying the Sethusamudram project is on and urging the court to vacate the stay.
“Ram setu is a matter of faith of 100 crore Hindus and matters of religious faith can not be decided in the court. There is never proof on issues of faith and it has been applicable to all religions, whether Islam or Christianity. Why can’t the government agree on the alternate sixth alignment for Setu Samudram project?” asked Malhotra.
The government’s affidavit was quietly filed on the day the finance minister presented the annual budget in Parliament. This politically-risky decision followed several rounds of meetings among the group of ministers set up specifically for the purpose.
s_singh@dnaindia.net
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