War of Words Between BJP – Opposition as a Hindu Becomes British Prime Minister

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Oct 25: As the first Hindu Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took over the reins of the United Kingdom on Tuesday, a war of words has broken out in India between the ruling BJP and the opposition over the alleged majoritarian practices followed by the “Hindutva” party.

Even as the BJP refused to draw a parallel between the Congress leader Italy-born Sonia Gandhi whose elevation as the prime minister was opposed tooth and nail by the party in 2004, and the UK choosing India-origin Sunak, it sought to highlight the rise of APJ Abdul Kalam, a Muslim, as the president, and Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, as the prime minister.

As Indians embrace the new Britain Prime Minister as their own and the ruling party particularly going gaga over it, the BJP said, “Can’t differentiate between Italy-born Sonia [who refused to take Indian citizenship for several decades after marriage with Rajiv] and U.K.-born Rishi with Indian ancestry.” The comment came from the BJP’s foreign affairs department head Vijay Chauthaiwale responding to a Twitter user. The BJP, however, chose to overlook that Sunak’s wife Akshata is still holding Indian passport, and he himself was holding American green card till the last year.

In London too Sunak had to face some criticism for a Hindu becoming the prime minister of a Christian country and yet he was seen wearing the sacred red Hindu ‘Kalawa’ thread during his first speech at 10 Downing Street. Mouli or Kalawa is a cotton red thread roll, considered to be very sacred and used for all religious purposes of the Hindus. The thread is used as an offering of cloth to the deity. The Mouli thread is an integral part of most of the Hindu puja. It is believed that by tying it on the hand one can win over the enemies and get protected from adversaries. Sunak was seen wearing “Kalawa” when he waved to the public from outside No 10 Downing Street.

Reactions from BJP leaders came after leaders from various Opposition parties, including the Congress, appeared to take a swipe at the BJP while lauding the rise of Mr. Sunak. PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said it was a proud moment that Indian-origin Mr. Sunak was elected as U.K.’s Prime Minister but it should also serve as a reminder that Britain has accepted an ethnic minority member as its premier but “we are still shackled by divisive and discriminatory laws like NRC and CAA.”

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asserted that India was a shining example of celebrating plurality and diversity but the past eight years of the Modi Government have reversed the philosophy of ‘unity in diversity’ so much that even England has started giving lessons. Mr. Ramesh said the BJP under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also believed in the Nehruvian philosophy of inclusive leadership.

“It was during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Prime Ministership that Dr. Kalam became President. There is a world of difference between Vajpayee ji and Narendra Modi. I believe Vajpayee ji was deeply inspired by [Jawaharlal] Nehru and Mr. Modi seems hell bent on wiping out Nehru’s legacy,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Interestingly, amid Congress leaders like P. Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor tweeting that Rishi Sunak’s rise as British Prime Minister can serve as a lesson for India, Mr. Ramesh said many minorities have become the President and Chief Minister in the past. “Those who get a mandate will become prime minister. Democratically, if someone is elected, we don’t have a problem. England’s party has made him the prime minister, we welcome it,” said Mr. Ramesh. “In our country, Dr. Zakir Hussain first became the President in 1967, then Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became the President and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and if I keep giving you examples, Barkatullah Khan became chief minister and A.R. Antulay also became the chief minister,” he said.

Mr. Chidambaram had earlier tweeted: “First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak. The people of the U.S. and the U.K. have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government. I think there is a lesson to be learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism.”

Soon after taking over, Sunak started delivering on his promise that “work would begin immediately.” Within an hour of his meeting with King Charles II, Sunak asked for the resignation of several members of Liz Truss’s team of ministers as a precursor to the announcement of his new cabinet.

So far three ministers have been asked to step down. Among them are Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis and Development minister Vicky Ford, sources said. Reports indicate that Jeremy Hunt will stay on as the finance minister. In his first address as Prime Minister, Mr Sunak has promised to place “economic stability and competence at the heart of this government’s agenda.”