by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, Dec. 21 |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has neither threatened to quit or has any intention to put in his papers in protest against the statements made by the RSS functionaries and its affiliate organisations on religious conversions.
Highly placed sources considered close to the Prime Minister told Lokmat that some of the media reports (not Lokmat) were without any basis and figment of imagination.
"Why shall Prime Minister quit ? "These sources wondered and said, " Modi knows how to handle these elements." After all Modi as chief minister of Gujarat had taught a lesson to Praveen Togadia and other functionaries who owed their allegiance to saffron ideology.
Modi is certainly extremely upset with the statements made by some of the leaders of the BJP including MPs and even ministers. While he has reined in the ministers and BJP president Amit Shah has also cracked the whip on party leaders. So much so that even ministers have been directed not to speak on controversial issues without the permission of the PM and MPs directed to concentrate on development agenda of their constituencies and task assigned.
However, Modi and Amit Shah have no control over the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and other such bodies who have their own agenda. Modi has been sending signal to the RSS leadership that these wings should be restrained and allow him to implement his agenda of development. But if these organisations did not desist, Modi had no reason to quit.
Some of the hard line Hindutva organisations like the Hindu Maha Sabha who are bent upon stalling the statue of Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse, has been a serious worry as Maha Sabha Bhavan is in the heart of Delhi and can cause problems. Therefore, Delhi Police will be directed to crack the whip the moment these leaders do anything "sinister".
Modi, on his part, doesn't want confrontation with these frontal organisations and messages have been sent to them through intermediaries to refrain from indulging in such activities at least for the next two years. If they continue with their agenda, Modi is tough enough to rein them irrespective of political consequences. He had sought votes during the Lok Sabha campaign in the name of development and growth and he won't tolerate any deviation.
The Modi supporters do not see any problem in the statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who has only advocated that a law be brought to ban conversions. Neither the Muslims and nor the Christians are willing for such a law.
No doubt, the Bhagwat statement will certainly lead to ruckus in Parliament on Monday and it may not function properly.
But there is no reason for Modi to even think of quitting.
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