By Sidharth Mishra
In a message to both its supporters and political rivals, the BJP has underlined that while development would remain the ensign of the Narendra Modi government’s agenda, it would be held firmly in the ideological flagpole of nationalism.
The two-day national executive meeting of the ruling BJP, which concluded in the national Capital on Sunday, while rephrasing the political agenda of the party and the government stressed the need to promote good governance in equal measure with “nationalistic concerns.”
Briefing mediapersons after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the conclave, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “We have progressive policies and nationalist thoughts. We can accept political dissent, but not anti-nationalism.” Indications about the emergence of nationalism as a focal point of Narendra Modi government’s agenda came earlier
in the day when another influential Minister, Arun Jaitley addressed mediapersons on the party’s political resolution.
“The ideology of nationalism guides our beliefs and philosophy,” Jaitley said emphasising that the overwhelming mood within the party was to take on the Congress for standing with “forces of destruction” in the controversy surrounding Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
“The Constitution gives full freedom for expressing dissent and disagreement, but not the country’s destruction. Freedom of expression and nationalism do necessarily co-exist,” said the Finance Minister delineating party’s current thought process, which was unveiled by party president Amit Shah during his address on Saturday.
On the issue of raising slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Jaitley said it was a matter which did not even deserve a debate. To embellish his point he referred to people raising the slogan during the India-Pakistan cricket match in Kolkata on Saturday. “We saw this in Kolkata yesterday”, he said.
Party president Amit Shah in his speech on Saturday had said that under the Modi government the security forces had the freedom to repulse the attacks on borders. “Though we would continue to make efforts for peace but would not compromise on the issue of terror,” Shah had said underlining party’s hardening line vis-à-vis its critics on the issues of intolerance, secularism and freedom of expression.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech, having left the quotient of nationalism for his colleagues to address, focused on issues of development – Vikash, vikas and vikas (Development, development and development). However, if Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley had failed to drive home the point, the Prime Minister asked the party “not to get confused and distracted as Opposition was raising useless issues.” “The opposition will drag us into negative politics but we need to focus on our agenda let’s not get trapped by negative style of politics of opposition,” the Prime Minister said at the meet. The resolution and the line of thought would influence the party campaign in the upcoming polls in the states. How good it would hold, only the poll results would indicate.
(The writer is consulting editor, Millennium Post)
