Shashi’s sallies

|
  • 0

Shashi’s sallies

Wednesday, 17 October 2018 | Pioneer

Shashi Tharoor certainly knows what he is doing.

The question is, do the Congress and BJP?

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor has once again set the cat among the pigeons with his statement, factoring in the clarification he issued, which amounted to saying that while he conceded most Hindus do indeed believe Lord Ram was born at the Ayodhya Janmasthan, he kind of hoped that no ‘good’ Hindu would want a temple to be built by destroying another’s place of worship. His ‘unclarified’ statement, as it were, made at a literary event previously, seemed to suggest that no good Hindu would want a Ram Temple at Ayodhya which the BJP, of course, has latched on to. While it suits the BJP – whose spokesperson stretched logic to its extremities by discerning in Tharoor’s statement evidence that the Congress high command was trying to whip up sentiment against the construction of a Ram Temple – to play the issue for as long as it has traction given the coming Assembly polls, the Congress needs to get a fix on what its campaign pitch will be. Tharoor is willy-nilly a front, even if he doesn't intend to be, for those in the party who seem to be convinced that there is space in the polity for a 'reclaimed' Hindu mainstream which in their view is uncomfortable with the 'hard line' taken by some in the BJP. This section of Congress leaders' thinking is that co-terminus with wooing the minority vote which is anyway not going to the BJP and has to be fought for by the Congress with various regional forces in different States, it makes sense to make a play for the 'moderate', relatively educated, urban 'Hindu' vote. But much like its new-found love for Hindu symbols, identities and temples, in articulating this allegedly evolved, 'moderate' view, the party does itself no favours by statements of the Tharoor kind which end up offending most people because they are seen as utilitarian. The gift of the gab has its pitfalls.

The BJP too, however, needs to take note of this development within Congress ranks rather than only use hyperbole to hit these perceived full tosses out of the park. For, as the lasting legacy of one from its own pantheon, AB Vajpayee, has shown, there is indeed a place for moderate politics from an Indic tradition that he epitomised. If middling achievements on secular issues such as the economy, infrastructure, jobs and services are the cause of anti-incumbency against the BJP, a moderate line may be better placed to counter it than amplifying fundamentals. The latter strategy works best electorally when the secular governance trends are either very bullish or abysmally bearish. It may be too late to course correct in time for the Assembly polls but it's surely a lesson worth keeping in mind for the General Election come 2019.

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda