A+| A| A-
Antony at Work
What does one make of the curious formulations of A K Antony, the highly regarded Congress leader, that the Congress Party fared badly in the Lok Sabha polls because of the widespread perception and resentment among voters that secularism under the Congress actually favoured the minorities, especially the Muslims. This of course has been the essence of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) propaganda that what the Congress practised was “pseudo secularism”, the BJP’s code for pro-Muslim politics, in contrast to the BJP’s claim that it stands for justice for all, appeasement of none.
What does one make of the curious formulations of A K Antony, the highly regarded Congress leader, that the Congress Party fared badly in the Lok Sabha polls because of the widespread perception and resentment among voters that secularism under the Congress actually favoured the minorities, especially the Muslims. This of course has been the essence of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) propaganda that what the Congress practised was “pseudo secularism”, the BJP’s code for pro-Muslim politics, in contrast to the BJP’s claim that it stands for justice for all, appeasement of none.
There is a bit of make-believe in these formulations, but claims for virtue and democratic rectitude made during election campaigns are not even meant to be taken seriously. Carrying even less conviction are statistical juggleries to claim that the Congress Party, though winning only 44 seats, did not fare too badly, scoring some brownie points.
Dear Reader,
Or
To gain instant access to this article (download).
(Readers in India)
(Readers outside India)
