BJP hit by Wikileaks yet again

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) It was the main
Indian opposition Bhartiya Janata Party's turn yet again to
be hit by Wikileaks cables with a US diplomat reporting that
its senior leader Arun Jaitley had remarked to him that Hindu
nationalism is an "opportunistic issue" for his party.
"Pressed on the question of Hindutva, Jaitley argued
that Hindu nationalism 'will always be a talking point' for
the BJP. However, he characterized this as an opportunistic
issue," a cable by Robert Blake, the Charge at the US Embassy,
to his government, had said after a meeting with Jaitley on
May 6, 2005.
Jaitley, however, maintained that he had not used the
word " oppurtunistic" while Congress party attacked him saying
those living in glass houses should not throw stones at
others.
The cable by Blake said, "in India's northeast, for
instance, Hindutva plays well because of public anxiety about
illegal migration of Muslims from Bangladesh.
"With the recent improvement of Indo-Pak relations, he
(Jaitley) added, Hindu nationalism is now less resonant in New
Delhi, but that could change with another cross-border
terrorist attack, for instance on the Indian Parliament," the
cable, accessed by The Hindu newspaper, said.
Jaitley, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
(Upper House of Indian Parliament) whom the cable described as
"one of several aspirants to direct the next generation of BJP
leadership", said in a statement that the word oppourtunistic
in reference to Hindutva could be the "diplomat's own usage".
He said the cable by the diplomat in 2005 makes a
reference to his conversation with him. "The cable reflects my
views on cross-border terrorism, illegal infiltration from
Bangladesh and the unfair denial of US Visa to the Gujarat
Chief Minister (Narendra Modi).
"However, the use of the word "opportunistic" in
reference to nationalism or Hindu nationalism is neither my
view nor my language. It could be the diplomat's own usage,"
he said.
Losing no oppurtunity to corner BJP which is attacking
the ruling United Progressive Alliance over Wikileaks,
Congress party told the BJP that those who live in glass
houses should not throw stones at others.
"Chickens are coming to roost, what goes out wrongly
hits back like a boomerang. People living in glass houses are
taught in this manner that they were to throw stones at
others," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.
Jaitley, also told Blake that the controversy
involving denial of visa to Chief Minister of western state
Guajarat, Narendra Modi, continues to fester among the party
rank and file, who see the action as a "personal attack" on a
leader of the party that began the transformation of US-India
relations.
However, Jaitley "agreed" with Blake that Modi was a
"polarising personality" but argued that it would have been
better for the US to let the Chief Minister visit the US where
he would have attracted a few demonstrators.
Last week, the party faced attack over Wikileaks
revelations that its senior leader L K Advani had told US
diplomats that the party would not harm the Indo-US nuclear
deal if it came to power in 2009 elections even though it
opposed the accord.
There was also another report quoting one of its
National Executive member Seshadri Chari telling a US diplomat
in 2005 that the party foreign policy resolution critical of
US in an executive meeting was for public consumption and too
much should not be read into it.