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Tolerance on test

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s capacity to accept differing internal opinions is on test. The immediate reaction from the government to…

Tolerance on test

BJP MP Varun Gandhi (Photo: Facebook)

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s capacity to accept differing internal opinions is on test. The immediate reaction from the government to party MP Varun Gandhi’s plea for a more humane approach to the Rohingyas suggests that intolerance is part of the “discipline” in which it takes considerable pride. A minister of state for home affairs has virtually questioned the “nationalism” ~ over which the BJP believes it has a monopoly ~ of the MP from Sultanpur.

“Anyone who cares about national interest will never give such a statement,” said Hansraj Ahir, perhaps unable to differentiate between a statement and an opinion-piece in a leading Hindi newspaper.

Varun, not unexpectedly, was quick to clarify that he was not questioning government policy, merely presenting a personal opinion. It now remains to be seen if personal opinions equate with dissent in the BJP rule-book, and if Messrs.

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Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and their mentors in Nagpur have the magnanimity to give a young man his “space”, and are capable of perceiving a difference between “differing” and “dissenting”.

The image of the Prime Minister conducting a one-man show is under scrutiny. Varun is in himself no political heavyweight, but being the son of the minister for women and child development who broke away from “the family” he is no pushover either, He has distinct symbolic value.

Varun’s article was fleshed out rather well, referred to various international views, spoke of India’s tradtions, and noted that this country was party to the SAARC protocol on terrorism (Article 17 says that the country will not deport anyone who may be persecuted due to their faith) even if it did not subscribe to the international convention of 1951.

“I’ve called for empathy, leading potentially to asylum, while vetting each applicant for national security concerns” is how the MP summed up his view, which is at serious variance with the stance the government has taken in the Supreme Court: a stance duly endorsed by the national executive of the BJP. The home ministry has rejected the argument that the 40,000 Rohingyas in India are refugees, describing them as “illegal immigrants”, liable to be deported.

The government has, however, sent considerable relief material to Bangladesh for the nearly 400,000 Rohingyas who have recently fled the Rakhine province in Myanmar. The Rohingya issue is not Varun’s only difference with the party-line.

On previous occasions he has expressed reservations over loan-concessions to industry, drawn attention to the persisting agrarian crises, and irked his parliamentary colleagues by questioning the “moral compass of the House” by granting themselves hikes in pay and perks. He was sidelined during the campaign for the UP polls earlier this year.

Could his plea for treating the Rohingyas as potential refugees result in him having to look for political shelter?

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