[Reader-list] An Appeal on the eve of Forthcoming Elections

[M Javed]

An Appeal on the eve of Forthcoming Elections

In recent months and years, we have seen the true face of the BJP and Shiv Sena.
First, the nation was shocked to discover that a whole string of terrorist
attacks, some of which had previously been attributed to jihadi groups, had been
committed by Hindutva terrorists. This came to light during investigations into
the Malegaon blast of September 2008 led by ATS Chief Hemant Karkare. The
perpetrators included Hindu religious figures like Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur and
Dayanand Pandey, retired military officers, and serving military officer Lt.Col.
Srikant Purohit. Instead of denouncing the culprits and demanding that they
should be punished, BJP and Shiv Sena leaders launched a hate campaign against
the brave and honest police officer who was carrying out the investigations,
Hemant Karkare!

Then there were the attacks on Christians in Kandhamal and Karnataka. The
attacks in Kandhamal in particular went on for months, and even today the
communities who have been ethnically cleansed have not been able to go back.
This would not have been possible without collusion from the state governments:
a BJP ally in one case, the BJP itself in the other. In Karnataka, this was
followed by brutal attacks on young women which shocked the nation when they
were caught on camera. They were carried out by the same Sri Ram Sene which had
attacked churches and Christians, and in one case resulted in the suicide of a
young girl. These people have correctly been described as ‘the Taliban of
India,’ due to their violent efforts to enforce their intolerant and
narrow-minded version of a religion and culture. As usual, the BJP spoke in two
tongues about these attacks. But actions speak louder than words. The fact that
such attacks could take place in a BJP-ruled
state without any action being taken against the criminals showed that the
party was hand-in-glove with them.

The latest scandal is the hate speech of Varun Gandhi. It is clear for anyone
who has brains that he actually spoke the words on the tape, and is only
claiming that they were doctored so that he can get away with his criminal
words, knowing that legal action against him cannot be completed before the
elections. Maneka Gandhi made a shameless attempt to start a communal riot by
alleging that a Muslim police officer was responsible for the firing when he was
not even present, and alleged ‘genocide’ when not a single person was
killed! It just shows that Varun learned his communalism as well as his habit of
lying from his mother. Again, the BJP has supported him. Why should we be
surprised? Their Prime Ministerial candidate, L.K.Advani, used the same kind of
language in the build-up to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the
horrific anti-Muslim massacres which followed. Narendra Modi, who is widely seen
as the BJP’s future Prime
Ministerial candidate, used the same language to whip up hatred against Muslims
after the Godhra tragedy in 2002, resulting in the shameful mass rapes and
murders that followed in Gujarat.

The BJP’s method of ‘fighting terrorism’ is well illustrated in
Chhattisgarh. In the name of fighting Maoist terrorists, the BJP state
government there has set up an illegal paramilitary organisation, Salwa Judum,
which is engaged in raping and killing innocent women, men and children, burning
their houses, evicting them from their villages, and putting them into prison
camps where they are deprived of their freedom. The state government has put
Binayak Sen, a doctor who has dedicated his life to providing health care to
poor people, in jail for almost two years, simply because he protested against
this brutal treatment of the villagers. In the name of fighting terrorism, the
state itself is engaged in terrorism!

The BJP aims to divide the country, and thus to destroy it. They have no
positive programme to offer: only hatred and violence.

We are very lucky they were not in power when the terrorist attacks on Mumbai
took place on 26 November last year. What would their reponse have been? In the
name of being ‘tough on terror,’ they would have bombed Pakistan. By now we
would have been in the middle of a war. The economy would have collapsed, and
security would have fallen drastically, as Pakistani terrorist groups targeted
India even more. In India, money for employment programmes, infrastructure,
health care, education and welfare, which ought to be increased, would have
fallen still further as more funds were put into the military effort. Worst of
all, the civilian government in Pakistan might have fallen, giving way to
extremist groups, and a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would be on
the cards, destroying millions of lives of both sides of the border.

We simply cannot afford to have such a party in power in our country: one which
stands for Talibanisation, intolerance, divisiveness, militarism and war.
Therefore we must make sure they do not come to power in the up-coming
elections.

We appeal to all the citizens that we must defeat the communal forces,
BJP and it allies.

All India Secular Forum

(sent by Ram Punyani)