Editorial: Defeat the communal agenda 

By now, the BJP’s political template has become tiresomely familiar; play the communal card to seek electoral dividends. Whether in States where it is already in power or in States where it is in the opposition, the saffron party has made divisive politics its core principle. Stoking public fears over an imaginary enemy and invoking […]

By now, the BJP’s political template has become tiresomely familiar; play the communal card to seek electoral dividends. Whether in States where it is already in power or in States where it is in the opposition, the saffron party has made divisive politics its core principle. Stoking public fears over an imaginary enemy and invoking the victimhood card have been the time-tested strategies of right-wing politicians to expand their appeal, not just in India but across the world. Such xenophobic narratives invariably result in creating social disharmony and dividing people along religious, ethnic and other identities, often with dangerous consequences. It is this devious design that appears to be at play as the BJP is pursuing an unabashedly communal agenda in various States. The recent statements of senior BJP leaders on Telangana expose their desperation to expand their base in a State which has zero tolerance for such divisive politics. The people of Telangana, who had unitedly and valiantly fought to achieve the statehood dream, are keen on economic development and social harmony. If the BJP sticks to its agenda of polarisation and stokes divisions in society, it will stand to lose whatever little support it now has among the people. The party must do an honest introspection of its campaign strategies. The sooner it realises the folly of its divisive agenda the better it would be for the party’s future. The statements of Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sharma, the BJP Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Assam respectively, mocking the composite culture of Telangana and openly advocating hatred against the minorities were highly deplorable.

Assam CM’s remark that like Article 370, the names of Nizam and Owaisi too will be wiped out from Telangana reflects a bigoted mindset. Such divisive statements are aimed at destroying Telangana’s culture, especially its secular fabric. This is a very dangerous trend that needs to be nipped in the bud. It is time all secular parties, cutting across political ideologies, came together and fought the communal agenda of the BJP. Such is the level of desperation among the saffron party leaders to expand the party base that they have been pushing the envelope hard and hitting a new low each day. They have also raked up several pointless issues that have no bearing on improving the socio-economic conditions of the people. The talk of renaming Hyderabad as ‘Bhagyanagar’ is one such issue aimed at creating divisions among the people. By dubbing parts of the old city as the hub for terrorist activities, the BJP leaders are indirectly targeting the minorities and vitiating the political atmosphere. Unfortunately, the brash and rabid Hindutva that revels in the binary narrative of nationalism versus the ‘Tukde Tukde gang’ has now come to occupy the centrestage of the BJP’s ideological positioning across the country.

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