Words matter

The statements made by Rajnath Singh in defence of Pragya Singh Thakur were not those of an iconoclastic academic. They came from the president of a major national party with an eye to forming the next Union government. Therefore, the new line that Singh has adopted on Thakur 8212; that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad is framing her by constructing 8220;an Arushi-like case8221; 8212; is indefensible. But Singh hasn8217;t stopped there. He also insists that those who believe in 8220;cultural nationalism cannot ever take to terror8221;. Might the BJP president define for us his notion of cultural nationalism? And also the attributes of a cultural nationalist? Singh will also be asked what makes him say that the investigating agencies do not have evidence against the Sadhvi in the Malegaon blasts and are, therefore, 8220;insisting on a narco-test8221;. If Singh accuses the UPA of acting on terror only with regard to its vote-bank considerations, he himself is guilty of nothing less when he accuses the ATS of framing Thakur, and predicts that terms like 8220;Hindu terror8221; will benefit BJP candidates in the assembly and general elections at the Congress8217;s expense.

These statements would be dangerous on any given day, coming from any private quarter. That they have come from a prominent public figure only increases their potential for mischief. To not mince words, Rajnath Singh has been very irresponsible with his words. He must know that he utters them in the volatile and tragic circumstances the country finds itself in. What8217;s more, to call for strictness on terror and then protest when that strictness hurts one supposedly of your own is hypocritical. So is the tendency to use anti-minority overtones in one8217;s own emphasis on security but promptly claim that terror has no religion when the trail leads to one8217;s associates. In fact, distancing oneself from such associates, although hypocritical still, is less dangerous than holding a brief for them.

We have heard a saner voice from Singh8217;s party itself, with its prime ministerial candidate himself saying that the Sadhvi should be punished if found guilty. If other BJP leaders also feel that a responsible party should let the ATS present its evidence and not jump to Thakur8217;s defence, they should say so. Singh himself had opined earlier that the law should take its own course. He must now return to that track.