Bangalore, September 12
A forceful espousal of the Hindu cause, Hindu symbols and Hindutva, symbolising the BJP perspective of nationalism, juxtaposed with the appeasement of Muslim separatists and terrorists by the UPA government, will be the main plank of the BJP campaign in the coming assembly and general election.
BJP President Rajnath Singh gave a panoramic view of his party’s plans in the run-up to the elections while inaugurating the three-day national executive meeting of the BJP here in Bangalore today. “I would like to ask why do controversies arise only on matters of our faith and belief?”
Rajnath Singh considered winning a victory against the UPA government on the issue of securing land for Amarnath pilgrims’ facilities near the shrine in Kashmir valley as only half the battle won. The war from his point of view is far from over.
The BJP President demanded here today nationalisation of the entire route from Jammu to Amarnath to ensure full protection to the Amarnath yatris.
Singh said, “I am demanding that the Central Government should nationalise the road leading to the Amarnath Yatra, so that in future no attempt is made to disturb social harmony for political reasons.” Elaborating further, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The road from Jammu to Srinagar is already a national highway protected by the Central forces. But higher reaches right up to the point where the darshan of Barfani Baba takes place need to be secured.”
Together with that came the promise to scrap Article 370 which grants special status to Kashmir. And the BJP President said, “It might be possible to create a consensus to abrogate Article 370.” Along with that he also demanded a separate, segregated homeland for Kashmiri Pandits in the valley. “I demand that the government should mark a special area in the Kashmir valley for Kashmiri pandits,” Singh said.
And from this flowed the weakness of the UPA government and its alliance partners, appeasing the separatists and terrorist organisations like SIMI. Referring to the recent utterances of UPA ministers, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan, and
SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav, ostensibly in support of SIMI and Bangladeshi infiltrators, the BJP president wondered, “In a sense should it not be considered a kind of treason,” adding that “why should this minister not be dismissed from the
cabinet” and alternatively, “should not action be taken against the entire government in the light of the Supreme Court verdict?”
Giving further vent to a feeling of hurt to the Hindu psyche, Rajnath Singh disclosed that the government has removed the Lotus logo on Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. He said, “Recently the government has taken a decision to change the logo of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan because the lotus flower is inscribed in it... I would like to remind the government that the lotus flower is not only considered sacred by the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists but is also the national flower of India.”
Ensuring the return of their prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani would solve many a problem, particularly the rise of terrorism, Singh declared.
He said, “We are confident that the NDA government led by Advani will embark on an effective campaign to weed out terrorism from this land.”
