Once burnt, twice shy: What the BJP silence on Rushdie attack tells us | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
Party stays away from positions that can have impact globally on Modi govt; is in two minds about author.
IN THE political silence in India over the attack on author Salman Rushdie, leaving him critically injured, the most deafening is of the ruling BJP.
The BJP had criticised the Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to ban the book in October 1988, as appeasement of the Muslim community. Later, its government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had granted Rushdie a visa to travel to India in February 1999, for the first time since The Satanic Verses controversy.
While the BJP would have been expected to react to the attack on Rushdie, party leaders – who did not want to come on record – said the circumstances had changed. A conscious decision has been taken by the party now to refrain from commenting on any incident involving international ramifications, particularly one as sensitive as the Rushdie episode, sources said.
The situation has been further complicated by the recent fiasco surrounding statements by its spokesperson Nupur Sharma (since suspended), as well as its mixed feelings about the writer himself who has been critical of the Narendra Modi government.
“The party, since 2014, has taken a decision not to make comments on issues involving international relations. Being the party in power, the BJP cannot comment on issues that can run contrary to the government’s position,” said a former minister.
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