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Journalism of Courage
WHEN Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi wanted a show of strength during his Gaurav Yatra at Dhoraji in Saurashtra, a constituency held by the Congress, it was not the BJP he turned to. It was the VHP and Bajrang Dal which made sure that virtually the entire town turned up for Modi8217;s meeting.
And this was not a one-off favour. Throughout the six phases of the Gaurav Yatra so far, the VHP has pumped in its resources and organisational capability to make sure the CM8217;s pet project holds up at least his pride. In fact, the Gaurav Yatra was originally proposed by the VHP, with Modi8217;s rath being a replica of the S-6 Sabarmati Express coach that was burnt at Godhra. But the proposal was scuttled under pressure from the Centre.
Gujarat VHP chief K.K. Shastri is candid. 8216;8216;The VHP8217;s involvement in the Gaurav Yatra is not official but yes we support everyone who talks of Hindutva.8217;8217;
Seen as a religious organisation in Gujarat till 1996, the VHP8217;s influence and powers have been growing since the BJP came to power in the state. In the past five years, it has almost got a vice-like grip on the BJP.
The process speeded up with the return of Modi to the state as chief minister on October 5, 2001. As a first step, the soft-spoken Haren Pandya was kicked out and Gordhan Zadaphiya, the VHP8217;s political face, was made Minister of State for Home. In the year since Modi8217;s crowning, the VHP has begun fixing agendas for the state government as well as the BJP and influencing policy decisions. The CM8217;s Yatra speeches have centred around the Parishad8217;s favourite topics 8212; Hindutva, anti-minority references and an anti-religious conversion Bill.
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Gujarat is VHP country 8226; Has a presence in 10,000 of the 18,569 villages of Gujarat 8226; Sent the highest number of Ram Sevaks of all states 8212; 50,000 8212; to Ayodhya early this year when the Parishad gave a call for kar seva 8226; Organises free religious trips on luxury buses for families, and in the past two years, has taken 200 such trips from 16 districts Story continues below this ad 8226; Runs more than 3,000 Ekal Vidyalayas 8212; offering teaching on religious subjects 8212; in villages across Gujarat, each having at least 100 students. |
And now, for the first time, at least a dozen VHP leaders may get tickets in the coming Assembly elections. The Parishad is demanding seats in mostly urban centres which were hit by the recent riots and hence are communally charged. Prominent among the VHP leaders likely to contest are Gujarat unit general secretary Kaushik Mehta from any of the Ahmedabad seats, vice-president Haresh Bhatt from Godhra, Punabhai Patel from Vadodara, Rakesh Mistry from Bharuch and Narendra Vyas who earned his 15 seconds of fame during the Bhavnagar riots.
The proposed anti-conversion Bill is also learnt to be at the instance of the VHP. Already, the Parishad is chalking plans to change history textbooks of the Gujarat board. Besides, since Zadaphiya got Home, IPS officers opposed to the VHP8217;s activities have been shunted out to insignificant posts.
Bhatt agrees the VHP has seen exponential growth but maintains it is still a religious and social organisation. 8216;8216;The VHP as an organisation is not entering politics in Gujarat. But its leaders will be deputed to the Gujarat BJP. It can be for organisational work or contesting elections. Who will contest will be decided on the basis of how popular the person is. We had Zadaphiya last time, this time there may be more,8217;8217; says Bhatt.
Is the VHP trying to enter politics? 8216;8216;That is not true. The VHP wants to bring the BJP into its line of Hindutva so that leaders who have been with the VHP for 20 years come to power. The organisation may send them to the BJP and they can even be asked to contest elections, but once they enter politics they will have to resign from the VHP membership.8217;8217;
As for fixing an agenda for the BJP, Bhatt says: 8216;8216;Hindhit ki jho baat karega, wahi desh par raaj karega. Education is another field. All the mistakes which have crept into our history textbooks must be set right, besides other issues on which the BJP is fence-sitting.8217;8217;
It seems to be moving in the right direction. Although its Gaurav Yatra became the BJP8217;s Yatra, the agenda has remained the VHP8217;s. All the seven phases of the Yatra have started from temples or places associated with religion 8212; starting from Phagvel, which has a temple revered by Kshatriyas, to the sixth from the temple city of Shamlaji.
