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BJP’s Diminishing Returns
The more the BJP vitiates the national discourse with non-issues, the less faith people will have in the party

- Swami Agnivesh

It is not my call to defend anyone in particular. But it is certainly my call to defend good sense and fair play in public life. I find it difficult to be a silent spectator to the display of outright pettiness, no matter from which quarter it comes. It embarrasses me that the BJP’s Raipur session schemed to caricature Sonia Gandhi as a foreigner just to derive electoral mileage. Quite apart from the prejudice and fallacy that underlie this opportunistic allegation, I feel outraged by the tendency to fight elections on trivial non-issues. It implies a conspiracy to push real and burning issues out of the political focus; and it is an insult to the maturity and sagacity of Indian democracy.

Not long ago, Mother Teresa was vilified as a non-Indian, a foreigner. Responding to this calculated calumny, the Mother, in a spirit of enlightened benevolence, offered a distinction that is relevant to the present instance. "I am not an Indian by chance," she said, "but by choice." All her saintly life was a vindication of that informed choice. What the Mother did through her response was to posit an implicit debate on what constitutes "Indian-ness". Who embodies the true spirit of India : a Mother Teresa who lived her life in godly compassion, or a communalist who spits poison and breathes cruelty? Surely, the Mother was a far more authentic embodiment of Ram’s righteousness, Krishna’s freedom of spirit, Buddha’s compassion and Gandhi’s spirit of sacrifice, than all the Sangh Parivar put together.

It is heartening to note that, under the leadership of Sonia, the Congress is slowly regaining its temporarily misplaced social conscience. The unequivocal commitment she has made to the poor (Congress ka haath, garibon ke saath), her Gandhian avoidance of the evil of "politics without principles", and the sobriety and consistency with which she has so far served as the Leader of the Opposition, have all made her an integral part of the history and ethos of India. I wish to place on record my profound appreciation of her recommendation that Nalini, an accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, be spared the gallows for the sake of the child that was born to her in prison. It strikes me as a brilliant patch of spiritual light, against a backdrop of the escalating darkness of hate, vengeance, and communal frenzy that convulses our political culture today.

India, as Nehru argued so eloquently, is not merely a landmass. She is also a spiritual dream and a carrier of light for the whole world. That being the case, children of light rather than of darkness should be deemed the authentic offsprings of Bharat Mata. Not surprisingly, Indira Gandhi, who knew her daughters-in-law better than the BJP camp does, came to the conclusion that Sonia was, in spirit and culture, the more Indian of the two.

I have my sympathies for BJP general secretary M.A. Naqvi. He has a difficult job. But, even so, he can afford to be a little more objective that he dares. His insinuation that Sonia could be a security threat to this country belongs to the world of the bizarre and irrational. If Naqvi has any evidence to substantiate his anxiety, he must share it with the rest of us. If, on the other hand, he is making wild, baseless and irrational allegations, he owes us an apology – and not merely the routine disclaimer that he was misquoted by the media.

Naqvi, however, is not wholly inventing a problem, he is only misrepresenting it. Sonia does, indeed activate a sense of insecurity. Ever since she assumed the reins of the Congress, the masses started flocking to her, she has been, albeit unwittingly, tormenting the BJP camp with considerable insecurity. Quite in the tradition of Louis XIV, Naqvi and his camp think that they are the nation, and that their insecurity is a national security issue! But the rest of the country is inclined to think otherwise. Entertaining irrational fears is a sign of psychic illness, resulting from the inability to engage realities and responsibilities constructively. And the more the BJP targets Sonia personally and unfairly, the more it vitiates the national discourse with non-issues, the more the people of this country will lose their respect for, and faith in, that party.

Through the recent elections, the citizens of this great democracy have spoken their mind. To them, Sonia is not a foreigner. She is an integral part of the culture and destiny of India. The courts in this country, besides, have put their final stamp of authority on the authenticity of her citizenship. Though a reluctant entrant into politics, she has delivered the goods and has grown impressively in stature and statesmanship. Her track record as the Leader of Opposition is commendable. Above all, she has a clean image, which hardly any of her detractors can boost of.

Arguably, Sonia is a problem that the BJP needs to cope with, somehow or the other. But it is doubtful if that can be done with weapons of vilification or brickbats of blackmail. The fact of the matter is that, given the ascendancy of economics over ideology in the wake of globalisation, nothing less than exemplary governance will save the party from total rejection at the hands of the electorate. The BJP rose to power on the promise of being a party with a difference. This was (mis)-understood by the people as a proffered commitment to good governance, corruption-free administration, and commitment to the unity and integrity of India. In a short span of time, all these expectations have been cruelly betrayed. For the people of India, this is a far greater issue than the distant past of an individual.

I don’t care through whom the regeneration of India comes, but I want it to happen. I don’t care who befriends the poor and the oppressed masses of India, but I want their sufferings to be mitigated. I don’t care through whom compassion is written back into our public, but I want social justice and compassion to be the hallmark of our spiritual and secular culture. Any party committed to these values is welcome. Nobody else is.

(Courtesy : The Indian Express)