The black sheep of India’s most powerful political dynasty or a young politician making his own way in that family’s most potent political rival?
Call him what you will, Varun Gandhi is grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons in an episode that could embarrass his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party at the start of a general election campaign.
The great-grandson of India’s founding father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was allegedly caught out making inflammatory comments against Muslims at a recent rally.
Local TV news channels are daily replaying clips in which he is alleged to have said the hands of those who threatened Hindus should be cut off, and going on to make crude comparisons between a rival Muslim candidate and Osama bin Laden.
India’s election commission will now monitor every speech Gandhi makes in the run up to the polls. To add insult to injury, Gandhi has since been accused of dishing out money to voters in his Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh state.
But the man himself stood defiant and said video clips of his speech had been doctored for political gain.
“That is a conspiracy, that is not my voice, those are not my words,” he said, but refused to name the likely conspirators.
The political lives of Gandhi and his cousin Rahul make for lip-smacking contrasts. Rahul’s mother, Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of the Congress party whom many see as wielding the real power in government, has long groomed her son to be a future prime minister.
Congress leaders openly say Rahul’s rise to the top is a matter of when not if. Varun, who faces a criminal investigation into his alleged comments, presents his party with a fiery alternative to Rahul, but enjoys precious few benefits from his famous name.
Unlike most of the Nehru-Gandhi line, Varun joined the BJP. His mother fell out with slain former prime minister Indira Gandhi and drifted towards Congress’ main rival at the end of the nineties.
In the dynasty vs dynasty game, Congress promotes Rahul as the natural heir to his father Rajiv Gandhi, the country’s youngest ever prime minister who governed when a young India began its rise on the global stage.
In contrast, the BJP wants to position Varun as the only Gandhi who can uphold the ideals that Indira stood for, especially toughness on internal security and military prestige.
The BJP has in the past been accused of stoking tensions between Hindus and Muslims to pander to its large Hindu vote base. Comparisons between Varun Gandhi and Narendra Modi are inevitable.
Some have not forgiven the Chief Minister of Gujarat, regarded as one of the BJP’s most capable politicians, for what they saw as his quiet complicity in communal riots in his state in 2002 that left more than 2000 people, mostly Muslims, dead.
“Another Modi is rising. There is no necessary to apology, he told real situation,” reads one reader’s comment on an article on Gandhi in the Economic Times newspaper.
“Varun is among the few bold younger politicians taking the bull by the horns. The majority (Hindus) must have at least an equal say in their own country. But we are ruled by minorities with an Italian to boot,” said another.
Another thing Gandhi said this week in the midst of the row caught my eye. “I am a Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian in equal measure,” he was quoted as saying.
Where had I heard such words before? The charismatic young Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, a friend of Rahul’s, delivered a barnstorming speech in parliament last year in defence of secularism.
“I am a Muslim and I am an Indian, and I see no distinction between the two.”
Whereas Abdullah’s speech was widely praised and became an instant YouTube hit, the question is what the future now holds for Gandhi’s fledgling political career.
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Dear Sir,
Can you kindly pass this message to Mr. Varun Gandhi? I don’t know how to do that. If any one of you can do that, it would be great. Thank You.
Peace.
Dear Varun Gandhi,
Congratulations for your winning.
Before sharing my ideas with you, I like to tell few words about myself. I am the person interested in spiritual life. I have lived as a monk for 14 years. This is background with which these lines were written.
Somehow, I do love you. I feel that you can definitely do something great for India. I don’t know why but I do feel that.
However, I want to make clear that your statement was definitely most dangerous one, had you made that (but you say it was not….).
Now you have won. Why don’t you take it as an opportunity to undo whatever you have been quoted as saying? Why don’t you take this as a great privilege to do immense good to people of your constituency, irrespective of Hindus, or Muslims, or Christians? Please do that and see what happens. I wish that the day will come within these five years that every people in your constituency will vote for you. Every one, irrespective of their religion should love you and appreciate you is my wish.
I never believe that by hurting each other by attacking each other we can have peace in this world. By doing so we will simply destroy each other. Hindus will attack Muslims, Muslims Hindus, so on and so forth. Then that will be the best way to end this world.
What I feel is that you have immense potential to bring the people of different religious community to together. Public who may read this may laugh at it. But I feel. I feel very strongly. I feel that what has happened in the beginning of your political career is a black spot, which can bring enormous good to you in the long run. Let the day come those who wanted to destroy your political career feel envy at you. Not only that let them too start loving you for your goodness.
It will be the most wonderful day in your life and in your political carrier, (in the long run in the history of India itself) if you start bringing together people of different religions who believe in peace and harmony of mutual existence, who believe that love is the way not the hatred.
I always wonder why there is not even a single person in any political party who don’t think of splitting the votes in the name of caste, religion etc? Why? Each party looks to be absolutely communal. We are so unbelievably selfish. We are ready to do anything to keep our carrier alive. As you say there is thirst for power. Unfortunately, we are ready to do anything for that!
I don’t say that you should not have thirst for power. On the other hand, I do agree with you when you said, if any politician says I am not interested in power, he is a liar. True, he is a great liar. If politician is not interested in power, he is no more politician!
But you can use that search for power to go immense good to society and people, and the world at large. I wish you, I wish most sincerely that the day will come when you will be remembered as one of the best person who has done immense good to all sections of society irrespective of religions.
With Love and Regards,
Peace.
Ps – Peace is my name.
- Posted by Peaceindeed win is win bjp should accept the defeat no matter next five years sit in opposition but the public of india select the better choice to avoid the communal roits, muslim and hindu are unique but bjp tried to break that public had swap the house of bjp l k advani will died without being prime minister breaking india is not easy bjp agenda is to make communal roits in india i think public is queit intellegent enough to select the good and bad
- Posted by qatrthanks india
Sanjai Gandhi was criticized for his nonthinking illogical rush fed by the ultra immunity of emergency. Varun Gandhi is imbibed in the immunity of extra religionism. Well, he wont make a Great Atal for sure. Its a negative surprise in the modern times.
- Posted by maxThe path that Varun Gandhi followed is tested and proven to achieve short term gain. Among the Hindu communal forces we have seen rise & fall of Sadhvi Rithambra, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiar,Dr Togadia and so on. The only person who has been able to encash communal card time & again is Narender Modi.I may be his bitter critic but I accept that he is a person with immense quality and there are only few who can match it.
Before raising his communal voice he should first develop those qualities that has made Modi a successful politician otherwise he will soon be be lost in the crowd
- Posted by Shibli FatmiWhy people mix everything with religion? Does god create human to fight for religion? or to live in the world and enjoy his creation?. Why people are so proud of a hate speech based on religion?. If Varun is true support of Hindu religion then he can preach it. But not by inducing a hate speech. Neither any religion support hateness of human being based on religion nor the Hindu religion support it. People please wake up and know the difference and respect the fellow human being first before bringing the religion. Religion is to make the people better not worst. Bring yourself to senses. This is a my humble attempt.
- Posted by SatheeshSonia and rahul used their last name to their personal advantage although these people are no way related to Mohandas Gandhi. Mohandas Gandhi did not DREAM this India. He would have opposed the British to give Independence if he would have known that India will be corrupt, barbaric, unsophisticated, brutal, collaborate in crimes against humanity and discriminatory. Varun Gandhi is a TRUE INDIAN and son of Sanjay Gandhi who was nominated by Indra Gandhi. Varun will overcome all the struggles and become a leader of India.
- Posted by V SivaWell if Mr.Varun Gandhi meant whatever stuff he said and he was pointing finger at a particular religion then it’ll be totally unfair if somebody will try to justify this. But this is also the truth that he has all the qualities of a future leader. Undoubtedly he needs to learn that as a politician and as a human being also he should respect all the religions because he is now a part of Indian politics and India posess many religions. Being a chauvanist is not good at all. I hope that he’ll make Indian politics better and India a better place in future.
- Posted by urvashivarun gandhi is only politician who spoke for hindu, why politician in hidustan cannot stand for hindu. why they always talk about lefts what about major bulk of people thats HINDU. we are proud of varun gandhi
- Posted by Abhi kharewe should not mix religion with politics.
- Posted by KishanVarun said a right thing but in wrong manner. Why can’t a person be proud of his religon and if every Human is same “Indian” then why these people don’t have family planning compulsory here they have a bonus..? why such “Bias-ness”in the society?
Whats wrong in Being Hindu and being proud of the same …?
- Posted by Harsh