A question of deception

Is the BJP's mask of moderation slipping?

Back in 1992, even as an insurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) felt it had the construction of a temple at Ayodhya in its sights, there was no shortage of "voices of reason" suggesting fears about allowing "kar seva" at the 2.77-acre disputed site were overblown. A few devotees singing hymns - what could be wrong with that? And had not the leaders of the BJP undertaken to respect the order of the Supreme Court that no construction would take place on the site? Assuming the worst was fear-mongering, they insisted. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao apparently gave in to such talk, turning down various other options available - such as the dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government, or the takeover of the plot by the Centre and its defence by central forces. Few need reminding, surely, how things turned out. Those "fear-mongering" had, in fact, minimised the threat. The supposed moderation and commitment to the Constitution of the BJP's leaders were revealed to be an ill-fitting mask.

Today, again, the BJP is insurgent - but it wears moderation even better now. The man who organised that Ayodhya campaign in Gujarat, Narendra Modi, is today front runner to become prime minister. Everywhere he goes, he talks "development" and "governance" and "India first", even issuing statements once in a while to disapprove of some leaders' election speeches that target Muslims and resort to hate-mongering. But the BJP is, in the end, what it is - the political wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and an organisation committed first of all to the political implementation of Hindutva. How long, precisely, can it go without showing its true colours? Deception is difficult for an entire party to pull off. And so India's voters have been treated to various unedifying statements of late - from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Praveen Togadia, for example, explaining how to drive Muslims out of their homes; and from a senior Bihar BJP leader and candidate, who said in a rally in the presence of a past party president that "those who want to stop" Mr Modi will shortly have "no place in India … because their place will be in Pakistan ... their political Mecca-Medina". On television, the BJP's national spokesperson, Meenakshi Lekhi, explained that riots were not to be looked at in isolation - the increasing numbers of Muslims in India also had to be considered, she said. And, of course, Mr Modi's right-hand man, Amit Shah, the one he expects will deliver Uttar Pradesh to the BJP, made a controversial, polarising speech in a riot-hit area, for which the Election Commission ordered a ban on his public meetings in the state. The ban was later lifted after Mr Shah gave a commitment that he would not make any statement violative of the model code of conduct.

Once again, the BJP has imperfectly concealed its true nature behind a mask. Even Mr Modi, always so careful, nevertheless gives the game away when he tries to claim that "growth" and "governance" are the opposite of "vote bank politics". Everyone knows what he means. True, the BJP is hardly alone in a cynical use of such markers. An AAP candidate, Shazia Ilmi, was caught on film exhorting Muslims to be "more communal"; Congress President Sonia Gandhi met a discredited, self-promoting Muslim cleric. Yet the BJP is the front runner, and it has a history of deception about its intentions. Whether voters will be fooled, as so many were in the days leading up to December 6, 1992, is another matter.