BJP Slams Congress Over Hamid Ansari’s Remarks on Hindutva

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 21 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday criticised the Congress over former Vice President Hamid Ansari’s recent remarks on Hindutva and right-wing ideology, alleging that his comments had exposed the ideological position of the opposition party.

Addressing the media, BJP MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Ansari had cited a 2019 book by A.G. Noorani, The RSS: A Menace to India, which refers to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s reported view that Hindu right-wing communalism posed a greater threat to India than communism.

Taking a dig at Ansari, Trivedi said he “congratulated” the former Vice President for, according to him, revealing the Congress’s ideological position. He also linked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of Hindu nationalism to what he described as a worldview associated with Nehru.

Trivedi further criticised the Congress’s alliance with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kerala and questioned the party’s secular credentials. He described the alliance as a “dark chapter” in India’s democratic history and made further allegations about the Congress’s ideological affiliations.

BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain also criticised Ansari, questioning his remarks about the country after his long public career, including his tenure as Vice President. Hussain said Ansari had received several constitutional and diplomatic positions in India and questioned why he continued to express grievances about the country.

The controversy followed Ansari’s reference to remarks concerning “Hindu extremism” and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), citing Noorani’s 2019 book. According to the account cited by Ansari, Nehru had considered Hindu right-wing communalism a greater danger to India than communism.

Ansari’s remarks have also attracted criticism from some Muslim clerics. All India Imam Association president Maulana Sajid Rashidi said that people who had held constitutional positions were expected to represent all sections of society. He also criticised Ansari for making what Rashidi described as more comments concerning Muslim issues after leaving office than during his tenure as Vice President.