Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Gujarat experience

Sir, — Will the BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, please define the term `Gujarat Experience' (earlier `Gujarat experiment') which his party wants to replicate in other States (Dec. 24)?

It may mean either or both of the following: One, it is possible to make remarkable electoral gains by creating a divide on the basis of religion through riots etc. Two, project the BJP as the only party which can save the people, particularly of a border State, from terrorist activities.

The first experience is obviously infinitely harmful to the nation, to civilisation, so much so that even the BJP ascribes its victory to its performance, not to a Hindutva wave.

With regard to the second, we would like to know what is the strategy and the comparative success of the BJP so far to fight terrorism, vis-à-vis, the other parties.

Bashing the minorities is not fighting terrorism or the equivalent of patriotism. It is just the opposite as it weakens the fight against terror by creating a divide.

Manatosh Mandal,

Hyderabad

Sir, — The BJP president has reiterated the party's stand that the Gujarat `experiment' will be repeated in other States. The BJP may have had a prodigious victory in the Gujarat elections, thanks to the communally polarised atmosphere it created, but to assume that a similar endeavour will produce the desired results in other States as well, is wishful thinking.

The party would do well to comprehend the fact that Gujarat does not symbolise the rest of India. Gujarat is in the VHP's stranglehold and hence the likes of Praveen Togadia chipped in with their demagoguery. However, in States such as Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the VHP does not enjoy such an entrenched existence. The BJP, then, will face the real test.

Sairam Sanath Kumar,

Thrissur, Kerala

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