Mail Today
December 19, 2008
Acerbic Bapu dons secular saint’s role
By D. P. Bhattacharya in Ahmedabad
AFTER spewing venom on Christians at the infamous Shabri Kumbh at the Dangs and actively campaigning for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, religious leader Morari Bapu is now set to assume a secular hue.
Addressing mediapersons in Ahmedabad recently along with Md. Shafi Madni, the Gujarat president of Jamat- e- Islam- e- Hind, and Father William, a social activist, Morari Bapu announced the launch of a three- day programme on communal harmony at Mahuva on February 26, 2009.
The event is being organised by representatives of the civil society and religious groups.
Bapu was visibly uncomfortable when confronted with questions on the Shabri Kumbh and its alleged connection with terror. “ Terrorism is terrorism,” he said, adding that much hype is being created around the saffron terror phenomena.
“ The matter is being investigated.
If there is something, it will come out,” he said. He, however, admitted there may have been some “ problems” at the Shabri Kumbh . Analysts believe this may be Morari Bapu’s attempt to assume a more secular image, particularly after a controversy regarding the involvement of VHP- affiliated sadhus — who had organised the Shabri Kumbh in 2006 — in the Malegaon blasts. The controversy has already damaged the BJP’s nationalist image, pushing it on the backfoot on its poll plank of terror.
According to sources in the state BJP, the stage is being set for the projection of Modi as a secular leader.
Exercises such as the communal harmony programme are only the groundwork.
“ The strategy of creating a hype about terrorism and linking a certain community with it has fallen flat in Delhi and Rajasthan. There has to be a new and more acceptable strategy,” a source said. He also indicated that one may expect more such gimmicks from the saffron brigade in the days to come.
When contacted, BJP spokesperson I. K. Jadeja refused to accept any link between Modi and Morari Bapu’s communal harmony programme.
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