The Hindu : Venkaiah warns Congress against 'Hindutva-bashing'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 07, 2003

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National

Venkaiah warns Congress against 'Hindutva-bashing'

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD Jan. 6. Challenging the Congress Working Committee's criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party's brand of Hindutva, its president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, said today that the Congress had failed to understand the purport of the Gujarat elections and was repeatedly trying to undermine its people.

Asserting that Hindutva was neither a religion nor a way of worship but a symbol of Indian civilisation, Mr. Naidu said that the Congress would itself be undermined if it did not respect the Gujarat verdict. Recalling the definition of Hindutva by the Supreme Court and Ramakrishna Parahamsa, he said it was a legacy left behind by our ancestors and "the soul of India." "Hindutva-bashing" had become a fashion, Mr. Naidu said, after laying the foundation stone for the BJP's State office building, and warned that those indulging in it even after the "Gujarat message" would be doing so at their own peril.

The post-Gujarat national focus had shifted to the BJP, notwithstanding frequent attacks by the Congress, the Left parties, the RJD and the SP. The country's future was inexorably linked to the BJP, the ideological line of which was gaining acceptance while the Congress influence was waning.

Wondering how anyone could object to the philosophy of Sarva Dharma Samabhavana, which meant equality of all faiths and religions, Mr. Naidu said even some ASEAN countries had given their airlines and banks names from Hindu mythology. The King of Thailand was known as the ninth Rama. But in our country, any attempt to change the British system was opposed as was the move to introduce ``Vande Mataram" or ``Saraswathi Vandana'' in schools.

Calling for a healthy, nationwide debate on these issues, Mr. Naidu exhorted his partymen not to feel "ashamed" of Hindutva or entertain any talk of compromising on the BJP's ideology. He suggested a three-pronged strategy for his party cadres to achieve the goal of winning 300 seats in the 2004 parliamentary elections — faith in ideology, belief in economic reforms and conviction about expanding the party base.

Referring to the CWC resolution on terrorism, Mr. Naidu said it was the Congress which had encouraged divisive tendencies in Punjab and other States but was now blaming the BJP for the attacks on the Akshardham temple and Parliament. "Have they not seen what happened to the terrorists in both these incidents?''

The BJP leader attacked the PDP-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir for its "soft" line on terrorism. Referring to the Mumbai blasts, the activities of outfits such as SIMI, the Deendar-e-Anjuman and the LTTE, he said the Congress seemed to forget all these.

Maintaining that ordinary laws would not work for terror outfits and terrorists, Mr. Naidu said he failed to understand how anyone could defend those found guilty of conspiring to attack Parliament and wipe out the entire Indian leadership. Human rights were meant for human beings and not for "such people."

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