Signing you in

The front pages of the Urdu dailies were dominated by Rahul Gandhi and Mohan Bhagwat over the week. The dailies spotlighted the registration of an FIR against the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) a day after he asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an FIR over a “purification” ritual held at Ramlila Maidan in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani after a rally by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge there. Far away from India, in New York, the RSS chief’s pitch for diversity and unity also made headlines, even as the dailies called for his message to be heard in the country by his affiliate organisations and their leaders.

With the question of quota heating up again, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its August 29 editorial, points out that reservation has always been one of the most important and politically-sensitive issues in the country, with the parties across the spectrum treading cautiously over it. It notes that days after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) led an over month-long protest of students and youths at Jantar Mantar over the exam paper leaks, some upper caste members started an anti-quota campaign. Referring to Mohan Bhagwat’s 2015 statement suggesting a review of the quota system which led to the BJP’s debacle in the Bihar Assembly elections, the edit says since then there has been a silence in the ruling camp over the reservation issue. “However, in the wake of the CJP’s protests, things seem to be changing now. The Reservation Hatao Andolan activists are claiming that reservation should be based on economic criteria rather than caste. Union Minister J P Nadda also met them to discuss their demands.”

The daily writes that while it is not possible to jettison the country’s reservation regime, the BJP seems to be reaching out to its core upper caste base to consolidate it. The BJP’s move to engage with the anti-reservation activists is an attempt to placate the upper caste sections which are said to be upset with the party over the now-stayed UGC equity regulations, the edit says. While the UGC rules were aimed at curbing caste discrimination in higher educational institutions, these sections are concerned about their “misuse”, it notes. “The BJP is keen to maintain its hold over upper castes, but it must not stir the quota pot. There has been unease among students and youths over the question of education and jobs. Any attempts to play politics over reservation would worsen the situation while impacting national politics deeply.”

Commenting on Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that diversity with unity is the essence of India and that a Hindu who believes Muslims should be driven out of India cannot remain a Hindu, the Patna-based Qaumi Tanzeem, in its August 31 leader, says that the RSS chief’s remarks made during his speeches at his New York events should be a lesson for certain leaders and ministers of the ruling dispensation “who always keep on asking Indian Muslims to leave the country and shift to Pakistan”. “Addressing the Indian diaspora at Madison Square Garden, Bhagwat told them that they should first fulfil their responsibility towards the country where they live, even as they should embrace the values they received from India. He also said we are indebted to the world for various things. We take from the world and so we have to give back to it,” the editorial states.

Highlighting Bhagwat’s comment that unity and diversity are part of India’s DNA, the daily writes that he also stressed on the oneness of humanity which, he said, was connected like beads woven into a single thread despite the differences in our living and modes of worship.

“In India though, Bhagwat strikes discordant notes while pushing for Hindutva. Several leaders of the RSS’ political wing BJP openly target the Muslim community while indulging in dog whistle against them,” the edit says. “Unfortunately, Bhagwat has never reprimanded such leaders despite being the head of the Sangh Parivar. He has never asked them to desist from their hate campaign. This is why his speeches in the US could only be called doublespeak and opportunistic.”

Observing that LoP Rahul Gandhi has come into his own now, Siasat, in its August 25 editorial, says that he has raised the BJP’s hackles after consistently raising public issues and taking on the Narendra Modi government over its policies and “failings” in a “bold and fearless” manner. “At his latest Chhatron ki Goonj event in Pune, Rahul urged girl students to smash patriarchy, tearing into Manusmriti for its prescription of subordinate roles for women. This triggered counter-attacks from several BJP leaders who gunned for him,” it notes. “UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also took aim at Rahul, alleging that he considered it his birthright to disparage India’s traditions and heritage.”

The editorial goes on to claim that the “BJP has been concerned that its bids to corner Rahul and blunt his campaign do not seem to be working” and that “even pro-establishment TV anchors are not proving to be of much help in this regard due to the social media factor”. While Gandhi’s popularity is on the rise, sections of people have started viewing him as a key prime ministerial face for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, it adds.