Strict action against those who praise Jinnah: Rajnath

BJP chief Rajnath Singh warned of action against all those who 'favour' Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh on Sunday warned of action against all those who favour Mohammad Ali Jinnah. If anyone dares to praise Mohammed Ali Jinnah,who was responsible for Partition of our country,along with all the horrific incidents that followed,strict action will be taken against them, PTI quoted Singh as saying at a workers conference in Rohtak.

Significantly,at his press conference in New Delhi late last month,RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had also argued that the Parivar could never agree with Jinnahs thesis that Hindus and Muslims constituted two separate nations.

A week after the Organiser put Bhagwats comments on its front page,Ramesh Patange,one of the most respected Backward Caste Sangh functionaries,belonging to the late RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras school of thought laying thrust on social engineering in politicsstressed in the RSS mouthpiece that ideology alone should be the basis of politics.

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Initially,the BJP had cited denigration of Sardar Patel in his book Jinnah: India,Independence,Partition as the reason for Jaswants expulsion. The party later argued that it was the cumulative effect of denigration of Patel and glorification of Jinnah.

BJP general secretary in charge of Haryana,Vijay Goel,who was also present at todays function,however,refused to confirm Singhs statement. I could not listen to his complete speech, he said.

Asked about the context of Singhs comments,Haryana BJP chief Krishnapal Gurjar said: A national leader like Rajnath is only expected to dwell on national issues and not just regional issues. He said that Jinnah was responsible for the sufferings of the people (on account of Partition). Asked about the context of Jinnah in Sundays speech,BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said he could not speak on the party presidents speech.

Meanwhile,in another instance of what appears to be the BJP echoing the RSSs concerns,Prasad urged the government to put pressure on developed nations to reduce subsidy to farmers before they ask India to do anything similar.

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On Saturday,P Muralidhar Rao,the upcoming BJP ideologue,in an essay in the Organiser,has argued on similar lines. When contacted,Prasad,however,said his statement had nothing to do with the article in the RSS mouthpiece.

Gujarat visit in keeping with RSS tradition: Bhagwat

AHMEDABAD: Rejecting all political speculation over his visit to Guajrat,RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday that he visited the state only to continue an RSS tradition and not with any political intentions. Bhagwat was addressing a public meeting at the Tri-Mandir in Adalaj on Sunday. Its a tradition in the RSS that after taking charge of sarsanghchalak,the leader visits the entire country. And so,continuing the tradition,Ive been on a visit to various states. After Chennai and Jammu,Karnavati (Ahmedabad) is my third place of visit, said Bhagwat. So,there is no substance to all the speculation about my visit to Gujarat, he added.

ENS