By Mohd. Imran Khan / News Click
Patna: Ahead of the much-publicised visit of Union Minister Amit Shah to Seemanchal, a Muslim-dominated backward region of Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been playing its well-tested Hindutva card. The party is trying to polarise the poverty-stricken people and target the Mahagathbandhan (RJD, JD-U, Congress and Left parties) government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
In a bid to galvanise support for Shah’s visit, the BJP is not missing any chance to play its Hindutva politics. Senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Giriraj Singh, state party president Sanjay Jaiswal, and a few party MLAs have been voicing controversial issues like alleged infiltration by Bangladeshi and Rohangiyas in Seemanchal, cow slaughter, increasing population of Muslims and decreasing population of Hindus. These claims are reportedly being spread to create fear, target Muslims and polarise Hindus.
Shah will meet party leaders and workers and address public meetings during his two-day visit to Seemanchal on September 23-24. This will be the first visit of any top BJP leaders to Bihar after the party was ousted from power and is yet to overcome the big jolt.
Shah, known as a master strategist of the Hindutva agenda, has specifically chosen Seemanchal for his visit to virtually launch a campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Seemanchal is considered a stronghold of the Mahagathbandhan and a politically weak area for the BJP in Bihar.
According to reports in local Hindi dailies, 14 teams of BJP leaders and workers have been working on the ground in Seemanchal to make Shah’s visit a big success. Besides, workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — the mentor of BJP and other Hindu organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and ABVP — have been deployed in large numbers to mobilise people for the upcoming visit.
Giriraj Singh, the BJP MP from Begusarai parliamentary constituency and a vocal champion of the party’s Hindutva politics, Union Minister Nityanand Rai, Jaiswal and dozens of MPs, MLAs and former ministers have been regularly visiting and camping in Seemanchal preceding Shah’s visit.
On Tuesday, Singh, who is in charge of the party programme of Shah’s visit, expressed serious concerns over the purportedly increasing Muslim population in Seemanchal. He blamed the “appeasement policy” of the Bihar government for the supposedly decreasing population of Hindus. Speaking in Purnea, Singh said it is part of a conspiracy to turn India into “Ghazwa e Hind” and “infiltrators have been protected by some with vested interest for political benefit.”
Singh further claimed that Seemanchal has become a hub of cow slaughter due to the government’s appeasement policy.
Earlier this month, Singh demanded a survey of madrasas and mosques in Bihar, particularly in Seemanchal, similar to what has been done in Uttar Pradesh.
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