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BJP, Why No Apology for Slander of Hamid Ansari?
Rana Ayyub
On a debate last night on NDTV in which I participated, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra refused to answer my question on abrasive statements by Yogi Adityanath and Ram Madhav about non-practitioners of Yoga. Patra and Kiran Bedi, his colleague from the BJP, sought like other leaders from their party to dismiss the serious allegations by Ram Madhav; they suggested instead that on International Yoga Day, it was the Guinness records and the broadcast message of peace that needed to be concentrated on.
True, it was these records that captured the imagination of most BJP spokespersons and leaders who were basking in the glory of the spectacle at Rajpath yesterday where thousands of citizens practiced Yoga with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This while one of Modi's closest confidantes and BJP Secretary Ram Madhav took on the second citizen of India, Vice President Hamid Ansari, for not participating in International Yoga Day. Madhav,who made the transformation from the RSS to the BJP about a year ago, asked this question in all innocence if BJP spokespersons were to be believed.
He later tweeted that he was unaware that the VP was unwell and then deleted his tweet attacking the Vice-President.
Yes, Madhav's tweet was innocent, as innocent as his party MP Yogi Adityanath's statement that those whon did not wish to practice Surya Namaskar could go to Pakistan. The connotation here need not be explained - Ram Madhav's dig at the Vice President is not divorced from Mr Ansari's religion, this writer believes.
And Ram Madhav did not stop at this. He accused Rajya Sabha TV, the state-run broadcaster, of blacking out the live telecast of the Yoga Day event 'completely' despite it being run on taxpayers' money. The reason for the attack is that the Rajya Sabha TV channel's controlling authority is Hamid Ansari. However, Madhav's claims were soon contradicted by Gurdeep Singh Sappal, CEO of Rajya Sabha TV who wrote "Baseless rumours. RSTV not just did live telecast of Rajpath event. But also had 3 documentaries, 1 special report today on Yoga."
What Ram Madhav failed to tell us - which was clarified later by the Vice President's office - wasthat Hamid Ansari was in the best of health but was missing in attendance because the Ayush Ministry refused to extend him an invitation to the event at Rajpath. Since then, the government has said that it would be a breach of protocol to invite the Vice President to an event where the PM is the lead player.
This is not the first time that Hamid Ansari who holds one of the highest offices in India had to go through an embarrassing situation that is linked to his religion. On Republic Day, he had to face a humiliating barrage of questions on his patriotism when he did not salute the national flag. Again those who questioned Hamid Ansari and his patriotism must read Section VI of the flag code of India. Hamid Ansari was a true nationalist as he followed protocol which demands "During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag, or when the flag is passing in a parade or in a review, all persons present should face the Flag and stand at attention. Those present in uniform should render the appropriate salute." Basically, the main dignitary (in this case, the President) takes the salute; the others need to stand in attention.
Ansari did the right thing, but not for "nationalists"in India who used the term "Jihadi" and "Pakistani"for him on social media and other fora.
This time, it was not social media, but one of the senior-most members of the BJP, Ram Madhav, who questioned the patriotism of Hamid Ansari. I do not need to be diplomatic here but state in as many terms that Ansari was targeted by virtue of his faith. The BJP did not just make a gimmick of Yoga by turning it into a one-time spectacle like the Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan but has made the compulsory practice of Yoga in educational institutions a yardstick to judge the loyalty of the people to the Indian state.
The BJP reduced a beautiful spiritual exercise into a measure of the nationalism and patriotism of its citizens. It wanted the event to be an exercise in which chest-thumping caricatures would perform the Surya Namaskar to prove their allegiance to the Indian state, a flawed idea which the Indian right-wing and the government seem to be endorsing overtly and covertly.
Why is it that none of us questioned Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for not saluting the national flag on Republic Day, but were aghast at Ansari's alleged transgression? Why does the burden of proving nationalism and patriotism lie only on Hamid Ansari and not other (Hindu) leaders?
Perhaps Ram Madhav answered the question himself yesterday and the unfortunate truth is that none of the BJP leaders will condemn him for humiliating the highest office in India.
The 'un-patriotic' citizens of this country who have had to bear the humiliation of being called "haraamzaade" by another BJP MP were asked to leave for Pakistan by Yogi Adityanath as Pakistan is seen to be the land which Indian Muslims hold allegiance to. And this unfortunate myth-making will continue to be given credence , proof of which was given to the country when Hamid Ansari stood humiliated last night. Sorry to say this BJP, but true to our apprehensions, you turned International Yoga Day into an exercise not in pluralism but communalism. And we as proud, patriotic citizens of this country are ashamed that you proved true to our apprehensions.
(Rana Ayyub is an award-winning investigative journalist and political writer. She is working on a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be published later this year.)
o o o
Hey Ram ! Madhav
-subhash gatade
Ram Madhav, the first official spokesperson of RSS (later removed or discharged from this role) and these days 'loaned' to BJP as a 'senior leader' engaged in what an analyst called double delete asana on International Yoga Day. The first of this kind of 'asana' - unheard before - was rather necessitated by the impetuosity with which the net savvy leader twitted about 'absence of Vice President Hamid Ansari' from the celebrations and the 'blackout of the programme by Rajya Sabha TV which is chaired by him' and later twitted 'an apology about the confusion' and within no time deleted both the twits.
By evening it was clear that not only the Rajya Sabha TV had provided a live coverage of the programme but also provided clarifications about honourable Vice President's absence. It was revealed that he was not invited for the programme by the concerned minister. In fact his office had to issue a press release to the effect because of the insinuations which were being spread targeting him and perhaps also tell the likes of Ram Madhav that there is something called protocol which the Vice President has to follow.
One does not know whether it would be possible for Mr Ram Madhav to comprehend such nuances of democratic procedures because for him such details are of no consequence. In fact if he was really concerned about absence of Vice President of India in the said programme, he could have easily phoned his office and made further enquiries. But as we know he just wanted to underline his absence from such a programme of 'national glory' when India was supposedly 'leading the world'. It was an indirect way to further the illiberal and exclusivist agenda he has been exposed to since younger days.
We know that this is not for the first time that the honourable Vice President has been targeted in such a lowly manner and a campaign of calumny and insinuation has been launched against him. During President Obama's visit also a similar controversy was raked up by the same elements when national anthem was being played during Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath. A photo of the programme was widely shared on social media wherein the President of India was seen to be saluting the national flag whereas Vice President Hamid Ansari and many other dignitaries were seen merely standing.
"Why didn't Hamid Ansari salute the national flag?" This question seemed to be top most on the minds of the self-proclaimed defenders of patriotism then. In fact, home minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj didn't salute the flag either, but as expected their patriotism was not questioned. Many hate tweets were hurled at the Vice President then ranging from "Jihadi sympathiser", "anti-India", "traitor", few of them even demanded that he be impeached also.
Looking at the raked up controversy the Vice President's office had to issue a press release then which underlined what is the protocol in such case. It said that when the national anthem is played, the Principal Dignitary and persons in uniform take the salute. Those in civil dress stand in attention. During the Republic Day Parade, the President of India, as Supreme Commander, takes the salute. As per protocol, the Vice President is required to stand in attention.
Both these cases where a concerted attempt was made to denigrate the office of the Vice President brings into sharp focus the modus operandi of the RSS and its affiliated organisations. They have no qualms in spreading falsehoods, stigmatising communities, breaking procedures, targeting institutions. With each passing day one is witnessing that their voices are becoming shriller and adamant.
The only option before every sane voice in this country at present is to remain constantly vigilant so that their machinations to further their majoritarian agenda receive challenge at every juncture
Perhaps it high time to remember the famous lines of Dr. Rahat Indori (which found mention in an appeal circulated by NRIndians Forum :
Jo aaj saahib-e-masnad hai kal nahi honge
Kiraayedar hain zaati makaan thodi hai
Sabhi ka khoon hai shaamil yahan ki mitti me
Kisi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai
(Those who are holding reins of power today would not be there tomorrow
They are on rent and it is not their own house
Everybody's blood is immersed in this land
India does not belong to a particular individual)