Hindutva, Hindunasjonalisme og Bharatiya Janata Party En ...

• Who has created this bizarre and perverse intellectual atmosphere in this country
where anything associated with Hinduism, Hindu ethos and Hindu faith is
considered communal, obscurantist and -- my blood boils when I hear the term --
"toxic"?
Preserve the Hindu ethos to strengthen secularism and national unity
Friends, the time has come to proclaim, and proclaim with all the courage of our
conviction, that India is secular principally because of its Hindu ethos. Remove this Hindu
ethos, and there will be no India left. Let us make no mistake: A section of the Congress
party, the Communists and some other political forces in this country are conspiring to
slowly but systematically erase the Hindu ethos of this country and to obfuscate the basic
Hindu identity of our culture and civilization.
In stating this, I do not in the least deny that India is a multi-faith nation. We are proud
that our land is home to practically every faith in the world, and every faith here is
respected. Adherents of every faith have the same rights and responsibilities.
Discrimination on the grounds of religion is alien to our age-old culture and against our
Constitution. But let every adversary of ours be warned: if anybody tries to take the
cover of secularism to indulge in anti-Hindu politics and statecraft, the BJP will stand in
their path like a rock, prepared to make any sacrifices.
Which is why, the BJP, after a lot of inner-party deliberation, decided to associate itself
as a party with the public outrage against the arrest of Kanchi Shankracharya. We have
made it clear that the law must take its course in the specific case in which allegations of
his involvement have been made. But this is not an issue concerning one individual. It
has far wider ramifications.
By launching the relay hunger strike and dharna on November 20, we have begun a
campaign through which, as in the Ram Janmabhoomi issue, we will powerfully counter
our ideological and political adversaries, reaffirm the meaning of genuine secularism,
strengthen national unity, and rededicate ourselves to the adoption of life-enriching
dharmic values in society, politics and statecraft. I wish to sincerely thank the former
President, Shri R. Venkatraman, former Prime Minister Shri Chandrashekhar, NDA
Convenor Shri George Fernandes, and several respected sadhus and sants for having
joined our Party colleagues in this protest action.
Agitation against price rise
The other issue on which the Party has launched a programme of mass agitation,
culminating in a massive protest demonstration in front of Parliament on December 1, is
the back-breaking price rise within six months of the UPA government. The Congress
party went to the polls tomtomming its slogan: "Congress ka haath, Aam aadmi ke
saath". The truth has turned out be: "Congress ka ghaath, Aam aadmi ke saath". This
betrayal is acutely felt every time a common man goes to the market to buy items of
daily need, every time a housewife brings a new cylinder of cooking gas, and every time
a kisan purchases diesel to run his pump.
I call upon our Party workers to conduct a sustained campaign to educate the people
about this betrayal and also contrast it with the success of the Vajpayee government in
keeping inflation and the prices of essential commodities firmly under check for six long
years.
Vigorously expose the failures of the UPA government
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