BJP's defense of Varun Gandhi, who threatened to cut the throats of Muslims in a speech that stormed media recently, shows the party is no less innocent than the young hate-monger. Varun had the audacity to speak such venon in public because he has seen leaders like Narendra Modi, Bal Thackeray and Raj Thackeray getting away with religiously charged public pronouncement not once, not twice but many a times. It is high time authorities must take a stern action against the ilk of Varun to send out a clear signal to all those leaders who incite hatred to garner votes. The BJP, including its prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, has long claimed and spoken about how the party wasn't inimical towards Muslims, but actions have repeatedly failed words. The latest being: completely ignoring EC's findings and turning the whole issue into a political slingshot to attack other parties. The reality is that BJP will not go against Varun, as he was only vocalizing the underlying Hindutva ideology that forms the basis of Saffron organizations including the BJP. This became very much apparent when RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said about Varun's comments, “What he is saying is in line with our Hindutva ideology.” An intolerant ideology that calls for “cutting the throats” of a people who differ in faith is completely against the founding principles of India, the world's largest democracy. Varun should at least listen to his cousins, Rahul and Priyanka, who have rightly denounced his unjust anger and hatred, while India should collectively tackle to rid itself of such a demeaning ideology that goes against the very principles ‘the father of the Indian nation' preached. __
