DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 21 (MExN): Pushed to the corner, the BJP Nagaland on Wednesday sought to dispel the anti-Christian perception which continues to dog the party. It also voiced concern that its candidates in different parts of the state are being targeted as anti-Christians.
While acknowledging the concern and apprehension of the various organizations in the state about the threat perception on minorities, Media Cell, BJP Nagaland in a press statement lamented that the party was at the receiving end owing to “misinformation, propaganda and selfish interests spread by some political, religious or so called secular leaders.”
In an attempt to dispel these misconceptions, the state BJP, in the first, maintained that all its candidates in Nagaland are Christians and remain committed to protect and defend “our faith at all cost.”
“Our candidates are all members of one church or the other and at this very crucial juncture leading up to the elections,” the BJP stated while requesting the churches to pray for their members so that “they can fulfil the will of God in the manner that they are called to.”
In the second, the state BJP alleged that the issue of Hindutva is also being raised to malign the party. It clarified that Hindutva is not a religion as many supposed to be so, but a “way of life” just as “we have our own Naga way of life.”
It referred to a 1995 Supreme Court judgement which stated that “Hindutva was a way of life and not religion.” It further took out a description from the Encyclopaedia Britannica that “Hinduism is a blanket term covering several religions and does not refer to a single religion.” Throughout India’s ancient history the word Hindu was never meant to denote a religion, it added.
The state BJP also asserted that it is not a political arm of the RSS or the “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh” or the National Volunteer Organisation as alleged by many. It clarified that BJP is a purely political organization that draws part of its ideologies from the RSS. A number of people who were part of the RSS joined politics and became part of the BJP. However, it does not mean that all the BJP members are the members of the RSS, it went to state.
On the apprehension that the BJP coming to power will disturb the situation in the state, the BJP Nagaland vowed that it will stand firm to ensure that the interest of the Naga people is guarded.
The state BJP also reminded that whichever party comes to power in the state will have to work with the BJP party in the Centre, therefore, “it will be in the interest of all to maintain healthy decorum as is befitting to respectful members in our society.”
