The Modi-led BJP government is silent on the attack on Salman Rushdie. Earlier, BJP stood up for Salman Rushdie and condemned former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for banning Salman from coming to India. BJP appreciated Salman Rushdie and stressed on him coming to India.
Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee granted a visa to Salman and welcomed him to India. This was in February 1999, after the controversy of the Satanic verses.
However, none of the leaders or party spokespersons spoke about the issue. Apparently, it seems that the party has learnt a lesson from the recent Nupur Sharma case.
Silence on Rushdie attack
The silence of BJP tells us that they do not want to fall into any kind of controversy after the Nupur Sharma case. The remarks of this BJP spokesperson brought in the anger of all the world leaders. Most of the global leaders asked the government to apologise for the comments made by Ms, Sharma. Hence, they are mum now.
According to the Indian Express, a party leader who did not want o come on record said that, ‘a conscious decision has been taken by the party now to refrain from commenting on any incident involving international ramifications, especially the Rushdie episode.
Sources say that PM Modi is very keen that his image should not be tarnished in any case. Hence, every one should be careful about the anything which may catch International attention, which may embarrass him or his party.
Many feel that BJP is confused about its own stand. When Salman Rushdie criticised Lat Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, they liked and applauded Rushdie. Whereas, now when he is critical about the divisive politics of Modi, they don’t like him.
To summarise, BJP is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
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