The BJP has shrouded itself in silence amid a global focus on the attacks on Christians by Hindutva goons and the Indian government’s refusal to renew the licence that allows Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity to receive foreign funds.
The twin developments, which have strengthened impressions of Christians being targeted, come at a time India’s ruling party has its lips sealed also on the calls for genocide against Muslims sounded at a conclave of sadhus in BJP-governed Uttarakhand.
The Narendra Modi government, ever ready to give a “befitting” reply to Pakistan, has been mum also on the neighbour summoning a senior Indian diplomat in Islamabad on Monday to convey “serious concerns” on the genocide call at the Haridwar conclave.
The Telegraph has tried to contact several BJP spokespersons to seek their reactions to these developments, but most of them didn’t take the calls or respond to text messages.
One of them refused politely, saying he needed “to study the facts relating to the Missionaries of Charity before making any comment”. This spokesperson, who deals with the party’s Northeast affairs, declined to be named.
The Christmas-season attacks on Christians in BJP-ruled Haryana and Karnataka and the advocacy of violence against Muslims have come in the run-up to Assembly elections in five states — most of them BJP-ruled — including the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.
It is widely believed that the attacks on the two minority communities are part of a Sangh parivar ploy to polarise people along religious lines amid reports of voter discontent over the rising prices.
Many see the BJP’s refusal to condemn the hate speech and violence, and its governments’ failure to crack down on the perpetrators, as a tactical move the party believes would pay electoral dividends.
Party insiders claimed the BJP’s silence on the attacks by “fringe outfits” was a way of demonstrating that it had no connection with these groups.
The BJP leadership, however, was forced to act when party MP Tejasvi Surya issued a public call for bringing back to the Hindu fold all those who had converted to other religions.
Sources said the Bangalore MP and BJP youth wing chief was told to withdraw his comments to show that the party didn’t encourage such views. Surya promptly declared he was “unconditionally withdrawing” his comments.
The BJP’s keenness to avoid speaking on the attacks on minorities has been visible also in its unusual reticence at events usually associated with volubility and chest-thumping.
On Tuesday, the BJP headquarters in Delhi witnessed hectic activity with two Congress MLAs from Punjab and former cricketer Dinesh Mongia joining the party.
Congress-ruled Punjab votes early next year and the BJP is desperate to make its presence felt in the state, where it commands very little influence.
Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the BJP’s election-in-charge for Punjab, was at the party headquarters for the inductions and later addressed the media. But no questions were allowed, apparently for fear that he might be asked about the violence against the minorities.
In Punjab, the BJP appears desperate to try and placate the minority Sikhs after the damage caused by some party leaders and ministers describing the recent farmers’ protest as one led by “Khalistanis”, among others.
BJP sources said that Modi’s “large-hearted” move of repealing the contentious farm laws was aimed at averting the possibility of Sikhs uniting with Muslims and Christians to create a solidarity of minorities against the government.
The two Sikh Congress MLAs who joined the BJP along with Mongia are Fateh Singh Bajwa and Balwinder Singh Laddi. The BJP showcased them as proof of the party’s acceptance in Punjab and among the Sikh community that led the farmers’ protest.
“Prime Minister Modi’s large-hearted decision to repeal the farm laws has won the trust of the people of Punjab,” Shekhawat said.
