The Hindu : 'BJP opponents have brought Hindutva agenda to fore'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 23, 2003

National

National

'BJP opponents have brought Hindutva agenda to fore'

By Our Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW JAN. 22. Hindutva had been forced as an agenda on the political centre-stage of the country no matter whether the BJP likes it or not, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Murli Manohar Joshi, said here today.

Whether Hindutva would become an agenda of the BJP during the coming elections in several States, he could not say. The election agenda would be decided only when the elections are due.''But our adversaries have already brought the agenda of Hindutva to the centre-stage. There is no question of our liking or disliking it,'' Dr. Joshi said when asked at a press conference if his party would contest the elections on the Hindutva plank.

Coalition Governments had their own agenda to run their activities. Besides, different parties forming a coalition had their separate agenda. After all, if all of them agreed on everything, their separate identity would naturally come to an end.

Thus the BJP-led Government at the Centre was functioning on the agenda of the National Democratic Alliance. His party, like every other, had its separate agenda also, he said giving his clarification on the issue.

Dr Joshi parried questions on "differences" between the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. When the coalition government was in place, it meant that the coalition parties were taking joint decisions.

He said he had only read in newspapers the statement made by the State BJP chief, Vinay Kaityar, that he would not tolerate any insult to his party workers by the administration.

``I wanted to ask Mr. Katiyar what actually he meant by his statement but Mr. Katiyar was not available,'' Dr. Joshi said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National