Jammu, June 23: Reaffirming his party’s commitment to Hindutva, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Tuesday said the electoral “victory or defeat is not a referendum on the ideologies and commitment of the party”.
Sharing the dais with Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohanrao Bhagwat at a function in the Jammu and Kashmir winter capital, the BJP leader said his party was committed to Hindutva and “would not give up that ideology simply because it lost elections”.
The two leaders were here to observe the death anniversary of the founder of the Jana Sangh, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who died in a state prison June 23, 1953.
Mukherjee was imprisoned for entering the state without a proper permit in violation of Article 370. His entry was in protest against the separate constitution, head of the state and flag of Jammu and Kashmir. Mukherjee wanted that the state be declared as an integral part of India and governed like any other state of the country.
Those days a special permit was needed to visit the state, which had its prime minister (wazeer-e-azam) and president (sadr-e-riyasat). The nomenclatures were later changed to chief minister and governor respectively and the special permit too was abrogated. But the state continues to enjoy special status under Article 370 with its own flag and constitution.
Without referring to Article 370, the RSS and BJP chiefs said they would continue to be inspired by the “martyrdom” of Mukherjee for opposing the two flags, two constitutions in the same country.
Bhagwat said those looking for options other than “Bharat aur Bhartiyata” (India and Indianism) should look at what is happening in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Tibet – the parts of India that got separated. “What is happening in Pakistan should be an eye opener,” he said.
“When we say we are Hindus, we are not referring to a particular religion, we are referring to loyalty to a nation, which embraces one and all irrespective of the fact what language they speak or which mode of worship they practice.”
The two leaders, at the function in the Jammu University’s auditorium, said they would continue fighting against the divisive forces in India.
The university authorities had Monday refused permission to the BJP-RSS convention in its auditorium but allowed the function on Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s death anniversary.
—IANS