Face the Elections: Varun won't affect voting pattern

s hate speech has gained a great amount of media coverage and people from all walks of life hold a view on the incident, one way or the either. Has the Varun Gandhi controversy created voter polarisation? Will the Hindus be on one side now and the Muslims on another? Will it benefit those who benefit from the voter polarisation?

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sudheendra Kulkarni, Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan, Professor at Centre for Political Studies Sudha Pai and All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Working Committee member Kamal Farooqui took part in the discussions. Senior Editor Sagarika Ghose moderated the discussion.

At the beginning of the show, 60 per cent said yes, while 40 per cent said no to the Face the Election question: Has the Varun Gandhi controversy created voter polarisation?

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BJP's changing stance

First, the BJP sought to disassociate itself from the Varun Gandhi hate speech issue. Then BJP prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani said that corruption was the major issue in this election. But with the National Security Act (NSA) being slapped on Varun, suddenly the BJP seems to have found a hot issue to ride on. They call the NSA angle disproportionate and a pursuit of a vindictive agenda.

BJP spokesperson Sudheendra Kulkarni did not agree with the point.

"First of all the BJP never sidelined itself from Varun Gandhi. We disassociated ourselves from the contents of the CD," said Kulkarni.

“We continue to disassociate ourselves from the contents of the CD and not from Varun Gandhi who continues to be our candidate. Secondly, what has happened to him now is outrageous. It is not only his democratic right that is being denied but also that of the BJP. In the middle of an election, after being granted bail, a new charge is being imposed on him, so that he is effectively disabled from campaigning," Kulkarni added.

Kulkarni branded that as undemocratic. He said that the BJP condemns it and will take it to the court of the people.

AIMPLB Working Committee member Kamal Farooqui clarified that the NSA had been imposed before the bail was granted.

So has Mayawati slapped the NSA to woo the Muslim votes?

“Not at all, not at all," Farooqui said. He added, “I personally feel this is the way any government should have behaved," he added.

“In the cases of Babri Masjid, of Gujarat and in Maharashtra, these politicians are being allowed to put up any kind of behaviour," Farooqui protested.

He said that people have gotten used to such incidents and no action is being taken against the culprits.

But what took Mayawati so long to react? Farooqui said that he was not defending Mayawati but this was the course of the law and it must be followed.

So was Varun Gandhi being made an example of, to deter anyone from repeating such incidents?

Why only Varun in NSA dock?

Kulkarni demanded to know how many people had the NSA slapped against them in the middle of elections. He held up a newspaper report about Abdul Nazir Madani in Kerala. Why is there no NSA imposed on a terror accused who is instead in the poll fray, demanded Kulkarni.

Kulkarni recalled the violence against the North Indians in Maharashtra, which is a Congress-ruled state with the Congress governing at the Centre. There were deaths after violence, but no NSA was slapped against anyone.