Opinion Express View | BJP cannot distance itself from hate speech at Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha rallies in Maharashtra on its watch

The Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha rallies, full of rhetoric and slogans directed against the minority community — this newspaper has reported at least 50 in the last four months — point to a disturbing trend in Maharashtra. In these mobilisations across the state since November last year, speakers accuse Muslims of “love jihad”, “land jihad”, “forced conversions” and call for their economic boycott. Several BJP leaders and legislators were present at these events. Though the party has sought to disassociate itself from the rallies — the Sakal Hindu Samaj, an umbrella outfit of Hindutva bodies, organised them, and party workers are involved as Hindus, it says — the polarising mobilisations raise questions that the party, which also holds the Home portfolio in Maharashtra, cannot evade.

Ever since the realignment of political forces following the rebellion in Shiv Sena ranks in June last year, Hindutva agendas have become more strident in the state. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had sought to give an ideological gloss to his decision to force a split in the Shiv Sena, accusing Uddhav Thackeray, party chief, of abandoning Hindutva. Thackeray, who became the CM by joining hands with the Congress and NCP which oppose the politics of Hindutva, responded by insisting that his Sena was the real Hindutva flag-bearer. This war of words of the Senas may have also prepared the ground for political mobilisations centred on Hindutva. The Shinde government has further set the pitch with administrative actions such as setting up a panel to probe inter-faith marriages in the backdrop of the Shraddha Walkar murder case.

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It may arguably suit the Shinde government if the political narrative on the ground is shaped by conversations on “love jihad” and “land jihad” rather than a scrutiny of its record in office. With local body polls in sight, the Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha rallies offer the BJP and the Shinde Sena the opportunity to talk up identity issues. At a time when farmers are flagging price concerns and other agrarian issues, polarising talk on mosques may seem like a clever distraction. However, a politics that seeks to exploit fault lines in society can only work against the long-term interests of the state. As parties of government, BJP and Sena need to send out a political signal, and draw the line that the likes of the Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha must not cross.