NEW DELHI:
Congress attacked the
BJP government for “inflaming communal passions” and sought to make a political point by differentiating the “political ideology” of Hindutva that was being misrepresented as Hinduism, a deliberate blurring to stoke social disharmony.
Making a distinction between the two, Congress’s political resolution said the essence of Hinduism is “all encompassing, upholder of humane values and our composite culture” which must be distinguished from BJP-RSS’ Hindutva.
The explanation diverged from Congress’s traditional criticism of the rival which followed a “communal vs secular” theme and seems to reflect concern that it should not be branded “anti-majority”, an apprehension expressed by party leader
Sonia Gandhi recently when she said BJP had managed to paint Congress as a “Muslim party”.
While the diagnosis was first made by veteran A K Antony in the wake of Congress’s decimation in 2014 polls when he said the party was seen as “pro-minority” and needed to course-orrect, Sonia Gandhi last week junked nuances to articulate the issue in blunt terms.
Speaking at a convention, Sonia listed many reasons for Congress’s fall and stated, “BJP has managed to convince people, to persuade people that Congress is a Muslim party. In my party, the great majority is Hindu. Yes, there are Muslims too. So I fail to understand this branding of us as a Muslim party.” In recent months, Congress has taken steps to blunt BJP’s “manipulation of perception”.
Rahul Gandhi’s visits to temples during Gujarat elections in late 2017 and his decision to start the campaign for
Karnataka polls with visits to Hindu shrines are seen as designed to preempt the saffron strategy.
