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Mr. L. K. Advani, BJP president, today appealed to the people of
Tamil Nadu to shed casteist feelings and not fight among
themselves. Addressing a public meeting here, at the end of the
first phase of the 'Swarna Jayanathi Ratha Yatra' to commemorate
the golden jubilee of India's independence, he said the message of
the Ratha Yatra was that there should be social harmony.
Recalling his visit to the Panchalankurichi fort earlier in the
day, the BJP leader said he saw there the statue of Veerapandia
Kattabomman flanked on either side by the statues of Veeran
Sundaralingam and Vellaiya Thevan. While one was a Dalit the other
belonged to a higher caste but they never had such feelings and
fought together to free the country from colonial yoke. But the
people who claimed themselves to be their descendants fought
against each other leading to many killings and everyone should
feel ashamed about this.
He urged all section of the people to shed casteism and stop the
killing immediately so that the Hindu society could progress
harmoniously. The BJP was not only concerned with the well-being of
the Hindu society but the entire population.
Wherever the BJP was in power the Muslims had not, been
discriminated against. 'Hindutva' meant that all religions should
be respected as they showed different paths to realise the same
God.
He said India had been able to maintain its secular status as it
was a Hindu country. But it was not so in Pakistan. The need of
the hour was to bring about a two-fold change at the Government
level and the level of the people. There should be a sense of
patriotism and social harmony among the people. Then only India
could become a great country.
The question which should be uppermost in the mind of the people
was why India could not get to the top even after 50 years of
Independence. Half of the population was still below poverty line.
They had not been provided with basic amenities. Even nations which
were ravaged by the Second World War had come up in the comity of
nations. But India was still lagging behind and the reason for this
was not the people but the leaders whom they elected to rule the
country. They were all corrupt men and this was the main reason
for the backwardness of the country.
Pointing out that BJP was for equality and maintaining communal
harmony, Mr, Vajpayee said his party was totally opposed to
divisions based on castes and worship. "India was multi-religious
and the Constitution guaranteed equal rights to the citizens and no
political party could deny this," he said.
He said he was grieved to learn about the caste clashes plaguing
India and especially Tamil Nadu. Reiterating he was for seeking
peaceful solution to such issues, Mr. Vajpayee said no regional
party could provide stability or solve the problems confronting the
entire nation. Though regional parties have come to stay, their
role in nation building activities was limited.
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