Is Modi not ready to fight Rahul Gandhi democratically?

Before hurling this abuse, Thakur had painstakingly tried to demolish Rahul's proposition that a Chakravyuha was in operation under the leadership of six leaders. The Six leaders he identified included Prime Minister Modi, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Home Minister Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and the country's two top corporate leaders. However, Thakur failed to demolish Rahul politically

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is unwilling to change its attack on Rahul Gandhi. Former minister Anurag Thakur used unacceptable language in his speech in Parliament, which only confirms that the party is not ready to accept the electoral verdict. The verdict is loud and clear: the Congress and the India alliance have a distinct stake in governance. The ruling BJP must recognize this. Instead of realizing the change in the political scenario, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his associates are trying to evade it.

The worst part of the episode is the Prime Minister's strong endorsement of what the former minister has said in Parliament. Should the Prime Minister publicly endorse the abusive statement made by Anurag Thakur? Not only was the statement abusive, but it was also expunged by the speaker.

However, the endorsement is hardly surprising. It is in tune with what the Prime Minister has been expressing in his speeches in Parliament and outside. During the last session, he portrayed Rahul Gandhi as an infantile politician who had failed to grow up to maturity. His statement only showed his deep-seated frustration and arrogance born out of his electoral defeat in the last general elections.

What Anurag Thakur stated in Parliament was an extension of Prime Minister Modi's earlier statement. Thakur said those whose caste was not known are demanding a caste census. Everyone knows what Thakur was trying to say. In this part of the world, caste is the dominant identity. Those who do not have a clear caste identity are considered to be of obscure origin and are despised.

Before hurling this abuse, Thakur had painstakingly tried to demolish Rahul's proposition that a Chakravyuha was in operation under the leadership of six leaders. The Six leaders he identified included Prime Minister Modi, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Home Minister Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and the country's two top corporate leaders. However, Thakur failed to demolish Rahul politically. He put all his energy into reinforcing the concocted image of Rahul Gandhi as an ignorant and immature guy.

Thakur's failure needs some elaboration in the context of Rahul Gandhi's politics. If we closely look at the politics of Rahul Gandhi, it would be clear that he is trying to create a counter metaphor to confront the communal politics of the RSS and the BJP. This counter metaphor has its origin in the diverse cultural and religious milieu of India. His interpretation of Shiva and the essential core of religion advance a counterpoint to the monolithic interpretation of Hinduism by the RSS and the BJP. The latter promotes exclusion and perpetuation of social hierarchy. Rahul's metaphor allows inclusion and abolition of social hierarchy. The electoral verdict and informal public response point to the success of Rahul's strategy. People are ready to pay him heed.

The response of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah has been inspired by authoritarian impulses. They are trying to pose as confident and bold as earlier. However, the fact is otherwise. The rise of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress has scared them. The apprehension of electoral loss in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand is real. The party has been unable to recover its ground in Maharashtra after the debacle in Lok Sabha elections. The party is undecided over who should be its allies in the assembly elections scheduled in November this year. They want to get rid of NCP led by Ajit Pawar. The junior Pawar had joined the BJP-led NDA to skip ED's actions. His entire team shares the same story. The NDA is not a political formation. It comprises dropouts of Congress and other parties who had to leave their parent organizations only to avoid ED and CBI's actions. The RSS has been trying to push Ajit Pawar out to make the NDA ideologically coherent. Indeed, Ajit Pawar cannot embrace Hindutva like Eknath Shinde. The latter has been a follower of Hindutva and does not have any problem in continuing with the BJP.

Rahul's challenge is not limited to the current political developments in States. It has posed a basic ideological challenge before saffron politics. The core ambition of saffron ideology is to destroy the diversity of Indian culture. Their slogan of unity is communal and demands the shedding of diversity. Hatred towards other religions is also a dominant theme of this proposed unity. Rahul Gandhi is trying to posit a counter theme of religious identity for the majority community. His reference to "Shiva Ki Barat" (the wedding procession of Lord Shiva) points to the core of his ideology. The phrase has long been used in India to describe the extreme diversity of our culture.

The demand for a caste census provides a concrete context for the metaphor of Shiva Ki Barat. It recognizes the material existence of different castes.

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)