Has the BJP really turned over a new leaf under its new chief Nitin Gadkari, or is he the new mukhauta (mask), something that Atal Behari Vajpayee was accused of being? Making overtures to Muslims, as Gadkari did at Indore, is something the BJP has never done, and it strikes at the very core of the party’s belief system.
It is, of course, natural that Gadkari should want to try to confuse the Muslim leadership since it is widely believed that the revival of the Congress party has a lot to do with the return of the Muslim voter.
But what will be Gadkari’s stance when the Congress party starts upping its campaign for reservations along religious lines? Surely, he cannot endorse this. In which case, he will have to adopt the traditional BJP line again!
When politicians try to change course, they would do well to think through the consequences of their actions. This is what LK Advani didn’t do when he made his Jinnah statement and we know what happened to him as a result of this.
RK Gupta, New Delhi
