The most depressing aspect of the Lok Sabha election campaign this time round has been its foul-mouthed nature. It is hard to recall any past election in which words spoken by politicians of all hues have been of such debasing nature. Some have even been of a kind that could leave a negative longer-term impact on our political and social fabric.
In this extremely regrettable category surely are the widely reported remarks of Giriraj Singh, a Bihar BJP leader who was a Cabinet minister in the Nitish Kumar government until about a year ago when the JD(U) and BJP fell out over Narendra Modi. Mr Singh is from the RSS family and a Modi groupie out and out. He was the first leader from the Bihar BJP to demand that the party fight the Lok Sabha election under the leadership of the Gujarat chief minister.
Over time, Mr Singh, now an election candidate in Bihar, has marked himself out as harbouring views of a Hindu extremist variety. His background can perhaps help us understand his downright provocative observation at a speech in Bokaro in Jharkhand that those who don’t vote for Mr Modi should be prepared to leave for Pakistan after the election. An inherent triumphalism — premised on the belief of a certain Modi victory — underlines the statement, as well as a sense of anger or revenge or grievance against the Muslims, for it is assumed that the remarks are aimed at the Muslim community in order to polarise the Hindu vote.
The BJP has distanced itself from its Bihar representative’s brazen message of hate. This is the only sign of relief in the sorry episode. To not do so would have been debilitating for a party that seeks to replace the Congress at the seat of national power. But in spite of the BJP’s embarrassed response to Mr Singh’s communal fulmination, it is well to note that Mr Singh has asserted that he maintains what he has said.
While the Election Commission may do what it thinks fit, it will be extraordinary if the BJP lets Mr Singh’s stubbornness pass without initiating punitive action. Clearly, the man has established he is no reluctant sinner. His obviously considered remarks also have the effect of bringing Pakistan as an item on the election agenda. This was uncalled for. The BJP may want to clarify this aspect of the matter as well. The Islamist Right in Pakistan may be expected to gain further encouragement to seek to explore internal security fault-lines in India following Mr Singh’s exposition of his blinkered view of political life. Had the BJP not given tickets to the riot-accused in Muzaffarnagar, and reined in Amit Shah, someone like Mr Singh may have been more careful.
