The Hindu : National : BJP playing communal card in J&K: Gowda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 10, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

BJP playing communal card in J&K: Gowda

S. Rajendran and M. Raghuram

“It is eyeing the vote bank in view of the Assembly polls”

Bangalore: The former Prime Minister and national president of the Janata Dal (Secular), H.D. Deve Gowda, on Saturday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party in connection with the violence in Jammu and Kashmir arising out of the Amarnath land issue.

Mr. Gowda said: “The BJP is once again playing the communal card at the grave cost of the nation’s unity and integrity. This time, the arena of action is the border State of Jammu and Kashmir where they are playing with fire only with an eye on the vote bank ahead of the Assembly elections in that State. Earlier, the BJP and its mentors in the Sangh Parivar had backed an outfit demanding separate statehood for Jammu. If Kashmir is with us today, it is because of the composite culture and geographical diversity it shares with the other two regions — Jammu and Ladakh.”

The former Prime Minister said it was high time the nation called the BJP’s bluff. People belonging to religious and linguistic minorities should also outrightly reject attempts by some sectarian and parochial leaders to use them as captive vote banks. “Any popular support to such political parties serving narrow selfish interests will be detrimental to the nation’s interests and territorial integrity.”

Mr. Gowda said that if the previous coalition government in J&K messed up the Amarnath shrine land issue, the BJP’s attempts to communalise the land allotment through agitations across the country was certain to help Pakistan in its mission — total alienation of the people of Kashmir from India. The sacred cave shrine of Amarnath was discovered by Muslim shepherds and local Muslims had been taking care of both the shrine and the pilgrims. The pilgrimage to Amarnath was thus one of the greatest symbols of communal harmony in the country.

He said: “I am also a born Shaivite and we are for providing all facilities to pilgrims; even the Kashmiri people, including the separatists, have no objections to it.” Hindus all over the world were known for their tolerance. They had not been deprived of any land and only that allotted on paper had been taken back. “I do not think any true Hindu would become rigid and obstinate to wrest back that land at the cost of India’s unity and integrity.”

Mr. Gowda said the BJP’s “rank opportunism has become apparent when the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate L.K. Advani tried to become ‘secular’ by declaring Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah as secular. It was a mockery of the party’s slogan — Akhand Bharat. “After forcing him to resign as the party president for his remarks on Jinnah, the RSS anointed Mr. Advani as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National