When the BJP’s first Dalit president Bangaru Laxman was caught on tape accepting Rs 1 lakh in cash, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was quick to condemn him the same evening as a ‘‘failed swayamsevak.’’ But in the case of Dilip Singh Judeo, the Sangh is doing just the opposite. Leave alone condemn him, the RSS has leapt to the defence of the Thakur ‘‘Raja’’ because he—along with Narendra Modi—is among Hindutva’s greatest heroes within the ranks of the BJP. Even after Judeo resigned under pressure today (following the PM’s remark last night that ‘‘if he is guilty, he will have to go’’), the RSS was set on portraying him a ‘‘victim’’ of ‘‘a Christian conspiracy.’’ RSS chief K.S. Sudhershan is out of Delhi but is being kept ‘‘fully informed’’ of the developments, and the RSS top brass is taking a keen interest in the ‘‘investigation’’ into the ‘‘conspiracy,’’ sources said. When contacted, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said, ‘‘The Prime Minister has said that investigations will take place and truth will come out. We support his stand and have a gut feeling it is a high-tech conspiracy hatched by the missionary sections who are running the state by proxy to defame not just the BJP but the larger cause for which Judeo has been fighting for long.’’ While the BJP has charged the Congress party with ‘‘doctoring’’ the tape in order to gain electoral mileage on the eve of Chhattisgarh’s first Assembly election, the RSS is backing Judeo’s claim of it being a missionary conspiracy. Judeo has long been a darling of the RSS for his fervent championing of the ‘‘Hindu cause’’ through his ghar vapasi (reconversion) programme among tribals. Judeo’s family gave large tracts of land to the RSS outfit, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) which works among tribals to counter the social welfare activities of Christian missionaries. Although there is considerable opposition to Judeo within the state unit of the BJP because of his autocratic and whimsical ways, the central leadership was seen to be tacitly backing him. And though he was not contesting the assembly elections, he remained one of the principal contendors for the post of chief minister in the case of a BJP win. The main reason for this, a BJP leader said, was the support he received from the RSS. The usually puritanical RSS has always chosen to overlook Judeo’s rather colourful lifestyle and Bollywood-style histrionics because of his anti-Christian missionaries stance. The Sangh was backing Judeo’s candidature because, as one RSS member put it, ‘‘if Judeo becomes chief minister, it will be the end of missonary activity in Chhattisgarh.’’ The RSS, he added, saw the Chhattisgarh election less as an electoral battle than one ‘‘between Christian missionaries and pro-Hindu sections” in which Ajit Jogi was a “missionary frontman” and Judeo the protector of “Hindutva.” Following Judeo’s resignation, the BJP has decided to go on the offensive and demand Jogi’s resignation as well. The BJP, though, is deeply embarrassed by the circumstances in which Judeo was forced to quit. The RSS, on the other hand, sees the development as an opportunity to bring back the ‘‘conversion of tribals’’ angle into the election campaign. Much to the RSS’s disappointment, issues of development and governance overshadowed the Hindutva agenda in the run-up to the elections in all four north Indian states going to polls next fortnight. By harping on the ‘‘Christian cospiracy’’ angle, they hope that emotive issues will take over at least in the Chhattisgarh campaign.
