National

This CD Is Not Reading

The Varun Gandhi controversy isn't working, parties aren't willing to give the BJP a handle

Advertisement

This CD Is Not Reading
info_icon
T
Outlook

BJP supporters—in particular, Gorakhpur’s Yogi Adityanath, who has openly endorsed Varun’s remarks—have been trying to whip up Hindu sentiment. For the "Hindu-minded", Varun’s speech has struck a chord though many feel that he should have been guarded in his language. Curiously, the party’s state president Hridaynath Dikshit is ambivalent: "We have disassociated the party from the contents of the CD we were given. It is for the law to take its course." Of course, he hastens to add that the BSP has blown up the issue and says the NSA was slapped on Varun only to get the Muslim vote.

Advertisement

The fact that the Varun issue is not working beyond a point is because most people feel that it was a "joint BSP-BJP conspiracy" to help the two parties—a line that has also been taken by the Congress and the SP. The feeling is that the district administration should have been strict, imposed Section 144 and not allowed Varun Gandhi to make such a dramatic surrender. The government defends itself by saying that it was impossible, that passions were inflamed.

Curiously, there is sympathy for Varun even in some sections of the Congress: in the party office in Lucknow, an old Muslim worker, Sajjad says, "Nobody born in the Gandhi-Nehru family can be communal. I have worked with Varun’s father, Sanjay. Varun, poor boy, has been trapped by the BJP." At the Kanpur district court, a lawyer says, "Anyone born in the Gandhi family is a hit. Magar ab Varun to superhit ho gaye hain." And most people, even the Muslims who have reason to be offended by Varun’s speeches, say the use of NSA was too harsh, out of proportion to his crime. Clearly, there is something to being born a Gandhi in UP!

Advertisement

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement