BJP stands at a crossroads after the Nupur Sharma imbroglio

Sharma, a former loose-tongued spokesperson from Delhi, is no Modi by a long shot

As the dust set off by an upheaval over the Nupur Sharma episode settles over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Narendra Modi government, the political fallout was described variously as a “minor turmoil” and “undeniably a setback” that placed the BJP at an ideological crossroads. Indeed, a party functionary went to the extent of comparing it to the dilemma that confronted the BJP in 2002, when then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was pressured to “take action” against Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarat chief minister, for allegedly not containing the post-Godhra violence. However, Vajpayee, who preached the