Malicious slants against historic figures continue to be the order of the day at the Lok Sabha election campaign. BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate in Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur stoked fresh controversy by saying that Nathuram Godse was a ‘deshbhakt’ (patriot), is a ‘deshbhakt’ and will remain a ‘deshbhakt’. And this has left BJP red-faced and scurrying for cover, with absolutely nothing to defend itself. It has also left the party very little time to do any damage-control since the campaign for the final phase is drawing to a close.
While desperately trying to fire-fight Pragya’s comment, all that the BJP could do was disown her statement and force her to apologize. And like in any political tussle, the Opposition was quick to highlight the connotations of implying Gandhi as an anti-national.
Such eccentric statements at this juncture will harm the prospects of the saffron party especially in Hindu heartland states like Madhya Pradesh where it faces a tough challenge after its recent assembly election debacle. BJP may have restrained Pragya from making further statements till May 19 when the last phase of election concludes, but can the party reverse the damage she has inflicted?
The controversial seer was reacting to a statement made a few days back by the founder of Makkal Needhi Maiyam, Kamal Hassan, at a recent poll rally in Tamil Nadu. Hassan had said that the first terrorist in free India was a Hindu and his name was Nathuram Godse. Terrorism has no religion, caste and creed and Hassan, by connecting Godse’s act to a Hindu, also touched a raw nerve.
History is being used, abused and national heroes shamed all the time only to woo a section of voters. Pragya, by projecting Godse as a patriot, has only tried to polarize Hindu voters, the same way she tried in her previous Hemant Karkare statement, little knowing that she is doing more harm than good to the party. Pragya has not learnt from her past mistakes, neither has the BJP. The backlash which Pragya faced after her Karkare statement very clearly indicated that people are not going to accept such shaming of national heroes. The strategy is not working and BJP should have stepped in to restrain Pragya from further damage.
In a politically charged up environment, this election has seen some of the worst acrimonies between political parties in recent times. The Election Commission, in an unprecedented move, was even forced to cut short campaigning in West Bengal. Communal slurs too have played their part even though such rhetoric cannot be accepted in the larger electoral context. While Pragya, who is contesting against Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh, has sensed that the only way to take the fight to the Opposition is to polarize voters, she did so without realizing the dangers that come with it. Showing iconic heroes like Gandhi in bad light or glorifying his assassin for political mileage can have serious repercussions.
