Rejection of Hindutva plan cause of crisis in BJP: Karat

New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) With the internal squabbles in
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continuing, the Communist
Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday said the rejection of
its Hindutva plank in the recent elections was the prime cause
for the crisis.

Noting that the saffron party had won in 1998 and 1999
by "broad-basing its appeal and getting on board parties who
do not share its sectarian ideology", top CPI(M) leader
Prakash Karat said the BJP had no identity without Hindutva as
its economic and foreign policies were no different from that
of the Congress party.

In an article in the latest issue of party organ
'People's Democracy', he said the BJP was a party "shepherded
by the RSS. It has always settled such leadership questions
with the help of the RSS whose writ runs on such key matters."

Observing that the BJP was at the crossroads as it
cannot break from RSS and "become an ordinary rightwing party
as Jaswant Singh wants it to be", Karat said "it will find it
easier to fall back into the comforting grip of the RSS as
Arun Shourie wants it to.

"But it will have to pay the price in the long run of
remaining an avowedly communal and sectarian party. Given the
DNA of BJP, it will inevitably adopt the latter course."

Maintaining that the crisis in BJP had come after its
"comprehensive defeat" at the hustings, he said out of 28
states, its vote percentage had declined in 26 compared to the
2004 elections. Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh were the only
states where the percentage increased. (More) PTI