People's Democracy

BJP’s Disruptive Politics

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on December 25, 2006.

THE BJP, led by the RSS, has adopted a platform of divisive politics and rank communalism. This is the message coming out of the National Council session of the party at Lucknow. The speech by the BJP president Rajnath Singh, the political resolution and the speeches of other BJP leaders have highlighted all the issues on the BJP/RSS combine’s agenda which have been discredited and find no support among wider sections of the people.

The political resolution harps on “Muslim appeasement” and warns that this could lead to a second partition of India. The arguments put forth are reminiscent of how the Hindu communal platform stayed away from the national movement for independence and sought to divide it on communal lines. In a secular India, the rights of minorities have to be assured and the Sacchar committee report has only underlined the failings in this regard.

The results of such a rabid communal platform can be serious. Muslim baiting and efforts to foment communal tensions can have harmful consequences. The BJP has to be rebuffed on this count and will be held squarely responsible for any disruptive activities.

The record of the BJP in government, both at the centre and in the states, has shown the people that a right-wing communal platform is no answer to their problems. The BJP leadership is unable to realise that the politics and ideology it espouses are no more in tune with the aspirations of the common people who are more concerned with the issues of livelihood, food, education, health and well-being.