It was heart-warming to hear Parliament reverberate with chants of “Save India, Save the Constitution” when ‘star speakers’ Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma spoke. Courtesy the BJP, the phrase goli maaro has made it to the Indian political lexicon, though what is patriotic or valorous about ‘shooting down’ compatriots in the name of religion defies understanding. It is gladdening that the tenacious anti-CAA protesters have elicited a response from Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad that the government is ready for talks with the protesters. Still, noises made by desperate hardliners in the Sangh Parivar illuminate their hostility towards the protesters. Prakash Javadekar has called Arvind Kejriwal a ‘terrorist’, just like Parvesh Verma did earlier. The use of symbols like the national flag, photos of Mahatma Gandhi and the recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution by the protesters have thwarted the BJP’s attempts to brand them as ‘anti-nationals’. The BJP is showing a pusillanimous reluctance to fight the Delhi election on real issues. Hate speeches by its members are also exposing the true face of Hindutva.
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
