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LATEST FROM THE RSS: Advani plans
to run India as Hindu sants suggest
WSN Network
 NEW
DELHI: Within hours of this WSN edition reaching the readers' hands,
India would be witnessing the first round of balloting for 124 Lok
Sabha seats on April 16 even as Congress, BJP and a rag-tag Third
Front pull out all stops to form the next government after an
election most of the media calls issue-less but still epochal.
As permutations
and combinations of seats, regional parties and bit players took up
most ofthe time and Indian media spent much ink and prime time on
arithmatic than content, a rather dangerous development passed by
unnoticed.
Desperate to be
PM, BJP's L K Advani has formulated plans to woo large chunks of
voters via the myriad self-styled holy men and women and has
proposed a direct say in the government to these sants. Advani
actually took the trouble to write to over 1,000 religious leaders
promising to consult them on all government policy matters if he
were to lead the next government.
BJP spokesperson
Ravi Shankar Prasad admitted the letter dated April 7 was sent out
to “more than 1,000 religious heads” of “all denominations.” Despite
repeated requests, the list of religious heads was not given to the
media but a copy of Advani’s letter was released.
A party leader
confirmed that all heads of various ‘mutts’ who attended the ‘dharma
sansad’ organised regularly by the BJP’s sister organisation, the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, were sent the letter, as well as “some
archbishops” and Maulana Wahiduddin. The only names of Hindu
religious leaders officially mentioned by the BJP were Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar and yoga expert Ram Dev.
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Writes to
Hindu religious leaders, promises consultative mechanism, cow
protection, security of Ram Sethu, tax relief, anti-conversion
steps, spiritual tourism. In fact, everything that RSS wants. |
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It has now come
to light that Advani’s office had sought a list of all VHP-affiliated
‘sants’ and “we sent him a list of about 2,000 sadhus and sants.”
Among these were prominent names in the VHP-controlled Ram
Janmabhoomi Nyas and ‘Dharam Sansad.’
Advani even
ended the letter with a ‘shastang namaskar’ (“I greet you while
prostrating before you”) while promising them a “consultative
mechanism” and adding that his government “would like religious
establishments to play an important role in inculcating spiritual
and patriotic values.” He further promised cow protection, security
of Ram Sethu, simplification of income tax exemption rules for
religious institutions, outlawing of all religious conversion using
fraudulent means, promotion of spiritual tourism and not allowing
controversies like the one on land for the Amarnath Shrine Board. In
fact, almost all the points in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
agenda were included, and not one that was on the list of demands of
non-Hindu religious leaders.
The Congress
spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi made some perfunctory protest remarks
but the party did not make it an issue for fear of losing the
radical Hindu votes. Saner elements said Advani's virtual offer of
consultation with Hindu religious leaders on matters of state policy
was more than political stuntmanship and reflected that RSS agenda
will rule if the BJP won.
India's
Election Commission did not take note of the matter even though it
is never tired of preaching that politics and religion should not be
mixed for electoral gain.
A BJP
spokesperson said there was no harm in taking the blessings of
religious leaders. “It will be my endeavour [as Prime Minister] to
seek on a regular basis the guidance of spiritual leaders of all
denominations on major challenges and issues facing the nation. For
this, we shall evolve a suitable consultative mechanism.”
Advani has in
any case made his stance and agenda very clear by giving mass killer
Gujarat CM Narendra Modi a star role in the BJP campaign and being
invariably seen in his company.
15
April 2009
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