BJP signals return to Hindutva

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday signalled a return to the Hindutva fold, stressing on restoring the primacy of ideology while strengthening discipline.

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A day after senior leader Lal Kishenchand Advani attributed the defeat in the general election largely to the neglect of the party's "ideological constituency", a paper on 'Tasks Ahead' adopted at the national executive meeting in Mumbai said, "We should not be defensive or apologetic about projecting our distinctive ideological identity, about our relationship with other nationalist organisations and also about our commitment to comprehensive social progress inspired by the eternal and universal values of our civilisation."

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It also stressed on mounting a counteroffensive against all those ideologies and political forces, especially the Congress and Communists, "who reject Hindutva as the basic identity of the Indian nation and who have perverted the ideal of secularism for their narrow political ends".

The paper also stressed on the "urgent need to promote and strengthen the culture of discipline and self-discipline at all levels, beginning with higher echelons".

"One of the manifestations of indiscipline is the tendency to use the media to air one's grievances. Wittingly or unwittingly, some people in the party share organisational matters with the media. This causes considerable damage to the party's image and internal cohesion," the paper, discussed and adopted on the concluding day of the national executive, said.

It also pointed out that the rapidly gathering impression that acts of indiscipline will be condoned and that even serious cases of anti-party activities will be overlooked "has done immense damage to the health of the organisation".

In other significant points in the wake of dissidence within the Gujarat unit of the party against the style of functioning of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the paper said, "For these corrective measures to succeed, it is necessary to understand that as far as the BJP is concerned, personal conduct and style of functioning are a part of our ideology itself.

"The two cannot be separated. Therefore, commitment to ideology has to be measured also against the yardstick of behaviour and style of functioning."