The BJP has once again labelled Congress as a Muslim party and the Congress has once again been found defensive about it – albeit, the president Rahul Gandhi made up for his party’s diffidence by tweeting his party didn’t discriminate with people on the basis of religion and caste. In his speech at Azamgarh, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mocked Congress for being a party which stood by Muslim men as it was opposed to triple talaq. Similarly, the defence minister Nirmala Sithraman had accused Rahul Gandhi of describing Congress a Muslim party. She had also asked him to come clean and clarify his statement.
Initially, Congress, as usual, acted defensive. Far from taking on the BJP and defending its secular values, the party tried to shrug off the label. Even though the Congress spokesman used particularly harsh words against the Prime Minister, saying “the PM’s sick mind was an issue of national concern,” the response was bereft of the ideological conviction. It was more in the spirit of distancing the party from the Muslim community. This is not the first time the party has abandoned Muslims. Last year, speaking at the India Today conclave, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in a sense, blamed Muslims for the loss of her party in the elections. She said the reason that her party had lost was that the BJP had managed to convince the people that Congress was a Muslim party. In my party, the great majority is Hindu. Yes, there are Muslims too. So I fail to understand this branding us as a Muslim party, went the Sonias words. Coming from her the words had troubling overtones. It exhibited a certain defensiveness and diffidence about being seen as a Muslim party. Or for that matter even being seen as a secular party. Instead, Gandhi seemed to be competing with the BJP for a Hindu tag and willing to shed any pretence of being a representative of Muslims too. This put in sharp relief the unenviability of being a Muslim in India. The parties seem to think that being associated with the community is detrimental to their political fortunes.
Chary of a political consensus in the country against Muslims, secular political parties are scared to speak in favour of Muslims. And the parties like the BJP and its larger parivar who are the most vitriolic against the community stand to gain electorally.
Truth is India may be constitutionally and electorally secular but institutionally the situation is one of indifference to the idea. Now with the rise to absolute power of the BJP confronting Indias secularism with its most serious existential crisis and also exposing its hypocrisy, the situation is no longer what it was once. India is no longer at a fork in the road as it was during the Narendra Modis 2014 campaign for the prime ministership. We have a country now where the BJP creed has acquired a much wider resonance, forcing the other parties to fall in line. What is more, there is no secular fightback, even in its hypocritical avatar in even the distant sight. Congress response will tell you that. Rahul’s tweet does offer a hope. But that shall only be possible if he translates his words into deeds.
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