Jammu, June 24: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajnath Singh Tuesday said peace and stability in Pakistan was in ‘our interest’ and India should offer ‘all support’ to combat terrorism in that country.
‘The BJP wants peace and prosperity of Pakistan’ as its stability was in ‘our interest’, Rajnath Singh told reporters here on the sidelines of a function to mark the death anniversary of the Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who died in a state prison June 23, 1953.
India should offer ‘all sorts of help and whatever Pakistan may ask for to combat the forces of terrorism and destabilisation in Pakistan’, the BJP leader said.
Reaffirming his party’s commitment to Hindutva, the BJP president said the Lok Sabha elections were not a referendum on the ideology of the party.
‘Call it cultural nationalism, Indianness or Hindustanism, we are committed to our ideology of Indian nationalism, which offers space and accommodation to one and all,’ Rajnath Singh told the gathering.
‘The elections were elections, not a referendum on ideology. Victories and defeats do not change the ideologies of parties,’ he said.
Sharing the dais with Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohanrao Bhagwat, the BJP leader said his party was committed to Hindutva and ‘would not give up that ideology simply because it lost the elections’.
The founder of the Jana Sangh, Mukerjee, 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 for Jammu and Kashmir. Mukherjee wanted the state to be declared an integral part of India and governed like any other state of the country.
In those days, a special permit was needed to visit the state, which had its own 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 and 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–