Nothing but politics

Atal Behari Vajpayee has been roundly criticised on all sides for letting his liberal mask slip during his visit to the Dangs district in Gujarat. From another BJP leader, the proposal for a national debate on conversions in the context of attacks on minorities would have been understood as an attempt to blow smoke in people’s eyes. But it is strange and out of character coming from someone like Vajpayee who has a reputation for moderation. Had he restricted himself to the debate idea, it might have been possible to give him the benefit of doubt and to say it was a well-intentioned but unwise method of calming the scene. However, he went much further. By saying conversions invited re-conversions, he appeared to take the VHP and Hindu Jagran Manch’s conspiracy theories seriously and lend legitimacy to their activities. To commend Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel for effective law and order action is to ignore the facts which tell a different story. It is understandable that during his first visit to atrouble-spot and armed with conflicting briefings from the Gujarat government and the Union Home Ministry, the Prime Minister thought it best not to take sides. Unfortunately what he has done instead has given comfort to religious fundamentalists. It is even worse that he failed to condemn lawlessness as strongly as he ought to in the circumstances.

At the bottom of all the trouble in Dangs is the fact that VHP and HJM activists are trying to settle their disagreement with members of another religion by violence and threats of violence. That has got to stop. Vajpayee should have been the first to say so instead of waffling on about conversions which, from all that is known, is not the real issue. Although BJP leaders may still have qualms about admitting what the real issue is, Ashok Singhal has none. His latest and factually unfounded statements confirm, if confirmation was needed, that the target of VHP propaganda is the Congress party led by Sonia Gandhi. Political mobilisation through religious means is nothing new to the VHP. Any excuse will do. No theory is too bizarre, no means too immoral for its political purposes.

This time it is the turn of poor tribals in a state ruled by the BJP to be terrorised. It is difficult to ignore the coincidence in the sharp escalation of anti-Christian propaganda and the defeats suffered by the BJP in the November election. It was always on the cards that some such tactics would be adopted once Sonia Gandhi assumed leadership of the Congress. No doubt the saffron ranks have been demoralised and need to be revived. But few would have expected BJP governments to allow mobilisation to take the form it has so far of attacks on innocent people in a backward district. From the start the BJP has denied that the VHP has had any hand in the attacks; it has denied any knowledge of the HJM although the organisation is mentioned approvingly in Sangh Parivar literature. How long is the BJP going to pretend that it has no idea what the VHP is up to? Its methods are immoral and illegal.