A mothers touch

No matter how the BJP handles it,theres no denying that their election campaigns been put on steroids by a couple of Gandhis gone rogue. Varun Gandhis Muslim-hating demagoguery is being quietly backed up by his mother,who alleged that 45 of Varuns supporters were beaten up by the police and that a Muslim police officer,Pervez Mian,personally injured 25 BJP workers. This was strongly denied by the Pilibhit police chief,who said that the officer had in fact been transferred out of town precisely to avoid such controversy.

The dispossessed cousin crossing over to the dark side is a familiar epic trope for many Indians Maneka and Varun moved to the BJP in 2004,a major miscalculation in an election that installed the Congress-led UPA in power. Varun Gandhi had been consistently sidelined in the BJP for the fact that he didnt come up the party ranks,and was finally gifted his mothers old constituency of Pilibhit. Now,his hate-mongering has bought him publicity that money couldnt buy. He knows that he fits into a tradition of politician provocateurs who expertly play the media and inflame social tensions; and emerge out of it with national name-recall,their political presence hugely enhanced. Over Varun Gandhi,the BJP has chosen a too clever by half strategy disassociating from the combustible content of Varuns speech,questioning the CDs veracity,and yet also failing to rein in the parts of its cadre that ran amok in Pilibhit. With various party members taking different tacks,the BJP hopes to energise its hardcore Hindu base,while placating queasy allies like the JDU with official disclaimers.

But as Manekas statement shows,the offensive is likely to be long-drawn and insidious. While less dramatic than her sons hate speech,this kind of allegation is even more destructive,as it plants seeds of rancour and exploits it. No institution is exempt from this dysfunctional worldview. In a climate where Muslims are hugely under-represented in security-related employment,this kind of throwaway remark is especially dangerous and must carry strong repercussions.