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| BJP needs to shun coalition compulsions and establish its credibility among India's biggest minority community | | Shiv Sena MPs' outrage | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 24: Notwithstanding the fact that the erring Shiv Sena MPs blamed those, voicing anger against force feeding of a caterer who was observing Ramzan fast, for giving a communal twist to the incident, the nation feels outraged. And the PDP chief, Mehbooba Mufti and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, were in the forefront of top political leaders who condemned the Sena MPs for committing what they called a sacrilege.
Well Mehbooba Mufti's statement on the issue sounded more balanced than the one given by other political leaders, including Omar Abdullah. Omar gave a political twist to the issue when he said "I would like to see how the BJP and Shiv Sena would have reacted if a Muslim MP had forced a non-Muslim vegetarian to eat meat. Shame on them." The very act of intolerance and arrogance demonstrated by the Shiv Sena MPs was itself condemnable and there was no need for political leaders to trigger communal tension feel those political leaders who prefer sitting on the fence without joining hands with rabble rousers.
Mehbooba Mufti displayed a sense of maturity and political wisdom when, instead of trying to give any communal twist to the incident, she said " even if it were not a Muslim observing Ramzan fast, nobody has the right to force-feed some one. MPs have set a very bad precedent which was taken lightly by the House (Parliament).
The nation could have been spared of tension and anger had the erring Sena MPs apologized soon after it surfaced that the staffer of the caterer, who was being forcibly fed with a chappati, was a Muslim. For several hours they kept on either voicing their ignorance about the incident or refused to apologise on the plea that they did not know the caterer's employee was a Muslim.
Delay in berating the Sena MPs for their ugly behaviour by the BJP leaders precipitated the level of anger against the incident. No doubt Shiv Sena is part of the NDA Government but it does not absolve the BJP of its responsibility for initiating tough stance against those law makers who relish breaking law. And it was the senior most BJP leader, L.K. Advani, who could not resist saying "what happened isn't right, even Parliamentary Affairs Minister has spoken against it. I believe that the Parliamentarians concerned have now apologised."
However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Venkaiah Naidu, adopted a meaningful and careful approach to the incident. He wanted MPs not to build communal passions on the incident which needed to be verified. This sounds absurd because all the TV channels and print media pictures had, for hours together, displayed video clips showing Sena MPs forcing a chappati into the mouth of Muslim employee of the caterer. Yes, the Sena MPs had a reason to protest against poor quality of food being served in the Maharashtra Bhavan. They may have rightly objected to the caterer's failure in serving Maharashtrian dishes but the way they registered their anger has hurt religious sentiments of people. Sena MPs outburst has saddened right thinking people in India. It is a test case for the BJP, which heads the NDA Government, that has to establish its credibility and impartiality in a nation that has multi-religious and multi-lingual characteristics. It is time the BJP remains above the compulsions of coalition Government. Already the BJP is suspect in the eyes of those who constitute India's biggest minority community.
This community has a vote bank that can turn the wheel of fortune. And the BJP, that was voted to power in the recent Lok Sabha election, cannot deny that part of its success is the result of support from a major section of Muslim voters. And if the BJP is keen to register its presence in the Kashmir valley during the ensuing Assembly election by fielding its candidates in most of the 46 seats, it has alter its traditional stand on such issues. Let the BJP favour a high level probe and impose some penalty on the erring MPs.
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