Being 'BJP lite' will result in 'Congress zero': Shashi Tharoor
NEW DELHI: With BJP's landslide victory in UP bolstering the belief that countering communal Hindutva with aggressive “secularism“ is becoming politically counter-productive, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor cautioned that turning to a soft-saffron model was not the answer to the political challenge.
“For Congress, peddling `BJP lite' is like Coke Zero, it will get us zero,“ Tharoor said, adding that the opposition has to stick to its political moorings and be demonstratively uncompromising on “secularism“.
Speaking to TOI, Tharoor conceded that “elements“ in north India were veering towards the view that “secularism versus Hindutva is a losing battle“ but he argued that the only way forward was to counter the “communal politics“ practised by BJP.
The post-Yogi Aditya Nath phase has triggered doubts that the opposition is improvising its political stance.
The absence of aggression among opposition parties in Parliament after the assembly election results has strengthened the belief, especially with the “secular“ bloc eschewing volatile issues that in the past would have resulted in robust protest, be it the “meat ban“ in UP or “intolerance“ in universities.
Political leaders acknowledge that the assembly results have forced a churn in the anti-BJP camp on how it should frame its political position so as not to play into the hands of saffronites. It has led to apprehensions that BJP may get a free run in pushing its Hindutva agenda.
But for Tharoor, there should be no ambiguity about the bottom line. “I have not disagreed with BJP on some issues like Swachh Bharat, but on the nature of India, its pluralistic and tolerant character, one has to be uncompromising,“ he said.
Tharoor said he did not believe in the textbook definition of “secularism“ which means rejection of religion. “I don't reject religion but believe in acceptance of all religions. And my perspective is that intolerance is un-Hindu,“ the diplomat-turned-politician said.
“There are some elements in the north who believe that `secularism vs Hindutva' is a losing battle but for many of us who consider themselves practising Hindus, secularism is not a theory but a lived experience. In south India, you see it all day like in the festival of Onam,“ he said.
A former UN official, Tharoor said he was openly Hindu since his days in the world body , underlining that he had attacked the demolition of Babri mosque in a speech there.
“This is not the Hindu religion I was taught. Hinduism believes in tolerance.Hinduism is openly welcoming... So, I have a Nehruvian view and on the basis of this belief, I have fought for a plural India,“ he said.
“For Congress, peddling `BJP lite' is like Coke Zero, it will get us zero,“ Tharoor said, adding that the opposition has to stick to its political moorings and be demonstratively uncompromising on “secularism“.
Speaking to TOI, Tharoor conceded that “elements“ in north India were veering towards the view that “secularism versus Hindutva is a losing battle“ but he argued that the only way forward was to counter the “communal politics“ practised by BJP.
The post-Yogi Aditya Nath phase has triggered doubts that the opposition is improvising its political stance.
The absence of aggression among opposition parties in Parliament after the assembly election results has strengthened the belief, especially with the “secular“ bloc eschewing volatile issues that in the past would have resulted in robust protest, be it the “meat ban“ in UP or “intolerance“ in universities.
Political leaders acknowledge that the assembly results have forced a churn in the anti-BJP camp on how it should frame its political position so as not to play into the hands of saffronites. It has led to apprehensions that BJP may get a free run in pushing its Hindutva agenda.
But for Tharoor, there should be no ambiguity about the bottom line. “I have not disagreed with BJP on some issues like Swachh Bharat, but on the nature of India, its pluralistic and tolerant character, one has to be uncompromising,“ he said.
Tharoor said he did not believe in the textbook definition of “secularism“ which means rejection of religion. “I don't reject religion but believe in acceptance of all religions. And my perspective is that intolerance is un-Hindu,“ the diplomat-turned-politician said.
“There are some elements in the north who believe that `secularism vs Hindutva' is a losing battle but for many of us who consider themselves practising Hindus, secularism is not a theory but a lived experience. In south India, you see it all day like in the festival of Onam,“ he said.
A former UN official, Tharoor said he was openly Hindu since his days in the world body , underlining that he had attacked the demolition of Babri mosque in a speech there.
“This is not the Hindu religion I was taught. Hinduism believes in tolerance.Hinduism is openly welcoming... So, I have a Nehruvian view and on the basis of this belief, I have fought for a plural India,“ he said.
