BTN: Secular and Nationalist appeals for India Votes 2009 - Make your decision

As always - we are bringing you two  perspectives to make a decision.

An appeal - Jo Hindu hit ki baat karega, wohi desh par raj karega

Govindacharya Speeches :: Inspiring Hindus in Kolkata - Part-1
Govindacharya Speeches :: Inspiring Hindus in Kolkata - Part-2

The Secular appeal:


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Ram Puniyani	An appeal by All India Secular Forum - Ram Puniyani
Blog	Posted By: hindtodaynews on:4/6/2009 11:26:28 PM

An Appeal on the eve of Forthcoming Elections

 

In recent months and years, we have seen the true face of the BJP and Shiv Sena. First, the nation was shocked to discover that a whole string of terrorist attacks, some of which had previously been attributed to jihadi groups, had been committed by Hindutva terrorists. This came to light during investigations into the Malegaon blast of September 2008 led by ATS Chief Hemant Karkare. The perpetrators included Hindu religious figures like Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur and Dayanand Pandey, retired military officers, and serving military officer Lt.Col. Srikant Purohit. Instead of denouncing the culprits and demanding that they should be punished, BJP and Shiv Sena leaders launched a hate campaign against the brave and honest police officer who was carrying out the investigations, Hemant Karkare!

 

Then there were the attacks on Christians in Kandhamal and Karnataka. The attacks in Kandhamal in particular went on for months, and even today the communities who have been ethnically cleansed have not been able to go back. This would not have been possible without collusion from the state governments: a BJP ally in one case, the BJP itself in the other. In Karnataka, this was followed by brutal attacks on young women which shocked the nation when they were caught on camera. They were carried out by the same Sri Ram Sene which had attacked churches and Christians, and in one case resulted in the suicide of a young girl. These people have correctly been described as 'the Taliban of India,' due to their violent efforts to enforce their intolerant and narrow-minded version of a religion and culture. As usual, the BJP spoke in two tongues about these attacks. But actions speak louder than words. The fact that such attacks could take place in a BJP-ruled state without any action being taken against the criminals showed that the party was hand-in-glove with them.

 

The latest scandal is the hate speech of Varun Gandhi. It is clear for anyone who has brains that he actually spoke the words on the tape, and is only claiming that they were doctored so that he can get away with his criminal words, knowing that legal action against him cannot be completed before the elections. Maneka Gandhi made a shameless attempt to start a communal riot by alleging that a Muslim police officer was responsible for the firing when he was not even present, and alleged 'genocide' when not a single person was killed! It just shows that Varun learned his communalism as well as his habit of lying from his mother. Again, the BJP has supported him. Why should we be surprised? Their Prime Ministerial candidate, L.K.Advani, used the same kind of language in the build-up to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the horrific anti-Muslim massacres which followed. Narendra Modi, who is widely seen as the BJP's future Prime Ministerial candidate, used the same language to whip up hatred against Muslims after the Godhra tragedy in 2002, resulting in the shameful mass rapes and murders that followed in Gujarat.

 

The BJP's method of 'fighting terrorism' is well illustrated in Chhattisgarh. In the name of fighting Maoist terrorists, the BJP state government there has set up an illegal paramilitary organisation, Salwa Judum, which is engaged in raping and killing innocent women, men and children, burning their houses, evicting them from their villages, and putting them into prison camps where they are deprived of their freedom. The state government has put Binayak Sen, a doctor who has dedicated his life to providing health care to poor people, in jail for almost two years, simply because he protested against this brutal treatment of the villagers. In the name of fighting terrorism, the state itself is engaged in terrorism!

 

The BJP aims to divide the country, and thus to destroy it. They have no positive programme to offer: only hatred and violence.

 

We are very lucky they were not in power when the terrorist attacks on Mumbai took place on 26 November last year. What would their reponse have been? In the name of being 'tough on terror,' they would have bombed Pakistan. By now we would have been in the middle of a war. The economy would have collapsed, and security would have fallen drastically, as Pakistani terrorist groups targeted India even more. In India, money for employment programmes, infrastructure, health care, education and welfare, which ought to be increased, would have fallen still further as more funds were put into the military effort. Worst of all, the civilian government in Pakistan might have fallen, giving way to extremist groups, and a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would be on the cards, destroying millions of lives of both sides of the border.

 

We simply cannot afford to have such a party in power in our country: one which stands for Talibanisation, intolerance, divisiveness, militarism and war. Therefore we must make sure they do not come to power in the up-coming elections.

 

We appeal to all the citizens that we must defeat the communal forces, BJP and it allies.

 

All India Secular Forum

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