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Journalism of Courage
Former Union minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi seemed to join BJP allies and Opposition leaders Thursday in criticising an order of the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar directing shops and carts on the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners. In a post on X, he wrote: “Kuchch ati-utsahi adhikariyon ke aadesh hadbadi mein gadbadi wale … asparshata ki bimari ko badhawa de sakte hain. Aastha ka samman hona hi chahiye par asparshta ka sanrakshan nahin hona chahiye (The hasty orders of some overzealous officials will create trouble … promote the evil of untouchability. Faith must be respected, but untouchability must not be patronised).” Later, he posted a photograph of himself participating in the Kanwar Yatra, saying he needed no lectures from anyone on respect and faith.
A Rajya Sabha MP from 2002 to 2022, a Lok Sabha MP from UP before that, and a former Minister of State Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) and ex-Minister for Minority Affairs in the first two Narendra Modi governments, Naqvi speaks to The Indian Express about the order — which is now being implemented in other parts of UP along the yatra route and separately in Haridwar, Uttarakhand — and the BJP’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh and other Hindi heartland states. Excerpts:
The BJP has faced such challenges in the past too: for example, the 1999 and 2004 elections. Then, the party bounced back in 2014 and 2019. The results were definitely not as per our expectations. As far as the percentage of votes is concerned, it was more than 40%. This is a ray of hope for our party.
The party will assess it. Every result is a lesson and message, and we must understand it. We will all have to come together for that. There is no point in raising fingers.
I have been working with the party’s campaign management for more than two decades. This is the third time that a government has been formed (in the country) without the Congress’s support and remote. After two terms, such a performance is commendable.
We will have to see that in 2014, we fought the elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We won more than 280 seats. Despite a full majority, the BJP took along its allies. The same happened after 2019 when the party won around 300 seats. The BJP has the DNA to work with allies. The Congress, on the other hand, is always looking for power and creates a tower of problems for its allies.
Firstly, I would like to state that this was a directive of the district administration. There were some contradictions and confusion regarding the directive. I am happy that the state government has issued a collective guideline for the Kanwar Yatra route. These guidelines are for the security, safety and purity of the yatra and the yatris. My opinion is that no one should spread any communal confusion over this. Safety and security are a collective responsibility and they should be enforced.
Yes, I did. There were some hasty guidelines from the district administration. There was noise on the national and international levels over this. Then, at the local level, these guidelines were hastily implemented. It looked in bad taste. The state government corrected this in time. The order is for all communities, not any one community. It doesn’t say it is for one community. The confusion has been cleared.
Whether it is the Kanwar Yatra, or any other religious programme, people from all communities take part. In the last few years, some incidents of provocation have happened. It is the state government’s responsibility to maintain law and order and harmony. Hence, the government’s orders should be respected.
