BJP Wants Cadres to Practise 'Positive Secularism' at Lord Ram-Flavoured Mega Council

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked all its 11,300 delegates, from top Union ministers to Panchayat Pradhans, attending the two-day national council to practice secularism as a five-point thumb rule, but with a twist.

Among the literature handed out to the delegates is a list of five virtues, the fourth of which is listed as ‘Sarv Dharm Sambhav’. The BJP has elaborated it to be ‘positive secularism’. The other virtues listed are cultural nationalism, political and economic democracy and morality driven politics.

PM Narendra Modi has always highlighted the difference between BJP’s brand of secularism and that of the Opposition. “I understand that true secularism is where there is no discrimination (of caste, creed or religion). For those who talk about social justice, I think there is no social justice greater than working for the happiness and convenience of all, for 100 % of their rights. Yes, this is the path on which we are walking,” he had said in May last year.

The BJP has always called Congress-led Opposition’s brand of secularism as “pseudo secularism”.

Interestingly, slogans for Lord Ram were raised from the stage as well as by the delegates at Bharat Mandapam, the venue of BJP’s ‘Mission 370’ conclave. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set 370 seats as the target for the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections during closed-door meetings of office-bearers. “Boliye Siyawar Ram Chandra Ki Jai”, “Jai Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” were some of the slogans that echoed.

The photo of the newly inaugurated Ram Mandir prominently found a place outside as a major achievement of the Modi government 2.0 along with Vande Bharat trains and the Chandrayaan 3 mission. Photos of India’s women sportspersons who brought laurels to the country along with that of farmers also figured in.

But the overwhelming flavour of the council has been nationalism and Shri Ram. All BJP attendees have been given a booklet that has a photo of Lord Ram’s idol on the day of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony at the Ram Mandir with Prime Minister Narendra Modi praying with folded hands. The booklet is called ‘Dev Se Desh, Ram se Rashtra’.