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How BJP has owned the national security issue and why China won’t change that

Congress had comfortably owned the national security issue till the time of Indira Gandhi. From mid-1990s however, BJP has come to occupy national security through five ways.

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Rahul Gandhi has termed the Prime Minister ‘Surender Modi. In an unprecedented development, all five major national English newspapers criticised the PMO for its handling of the Galwan crisis. For the first time in six years, the Bharatiya Janata Party is on the back foot on an issue that has been central to its political appeal — national security.

Yet, precisely because the BJP so strongly owns the issue of national security, it is unlikely to face any political repercussions for the Narendra Modi government’s blunders in dealing with China. A party is considered to own an issue when it has a long-term reputation of attentiveness and competence on it.

In a 2014 Lokniti survey, 31 per cent of people named the BJP as the most trusted party on national security, with just 19 per cent going for the Congress. The lead appeared to have only widened in 2019, according to surveys.

The era of BJP’s ownership of the national security issue can be said to have definitively begun with the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests and the 1999 Kargil War. The zenith of this ownership was the post-Balakot period where the salient national security issue pushed the BJP towards a resounding victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

These reputations of competence are solidified over a long time, and are thus not easily dislodged. Unless there is, in the words of political scientists Jane Green and Will Jennings, “such a major and symbolic policy failure” that it forces voters to “re-evaluate their long-held views”. Something like how the monumental disaster of the Iraq War deposed the long-held Republican ownership of the national security issue, at least for a while.

Modi’s handling of China, in the mainstream public opinion, at most rises to the level of a setback, and not a disaster that can spark such a fundamental re-evaluation. Because of the BJP’s typically adroit media management, people are still more likely to trust Modi and his party with national security than others.


Also read: India’s young no longer charmed by Modi. Blame economy and ideology


First Congress, then BJP

But why did Indians come to trust the BJP with national security?

World over, reputations on national security are not formed on the basis of any real policy outcomes but the perception of which party is ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ on important threats. In other words, a party need not deliver on national security in order to own the issue. As Patrick Egan explains in his book Partisan Priorities: How Issue Ownership Drives and Distorts American Politics, “party owned issues do not improve in any detectable way when the party is in power.”

The BJP has come to own the national security issue because it is seen to be the most ‘tough’/‘hard’/‘strong’ party on the three most important threats in popular imagination: Pakistan, Islamic extremism, and Maoism. When asked about India’s biggest threats in a 2014 Pew survey, 90 per cent respondents included Pakistan, 85 per cent included Naxalites and 80 per cent included Lashkar-e-Taiba. Mostly through its uncompromising rhetoric, fortified with occasional dramatic policies, on Pakistan and terrorism, the BJP has owned the issue of national security. Both Pakistan and terrorism, by design, seamlessly align with its domestic politics of Hindutva and anti-Muslim prejudice.

The Congress had comfortably owned the issue of national security till the time of Indira Gandhi, and also, to an extent, Rajiv Gandhi. Indira Gandhi had led India to a crushing victory against Pakistan in 1971, for which Atal Bihari Vajpayee had anointed her ‘Durga’, and adopted a majoritarian tenor in her campaign against the Khalistan movement. It is because of her national security credentials that she is the only member of the Nehru-Gandhi family the BJP shirks from attacking on security. Even when it comes to Emergency, the principal villain is the Congress party as a whole.


Also read: Modi faces no political costs for suffering he causes. He’s just like Iran’s Ali Khamenei


BJP’s ownership of national security

However, starting from the mid-1990s, the BJP has come to be recognised as the toughest party on national security. This has happened through the following five ways:

First, the BJP projected itself as a party not tied to any vote bank, whereas the Congress and other parties have been presented as indulging in ‘appeasement’ of Indian Muslims. The BJP used this binary to create a voter perception on the national security issue. According to PM Modi, there are two types of politics — ‘vote bhakti‘ (worship) and ‘desh bhakti‘. The Congress’ non reply to 26/11 represented ‘vote bhakti ‘(appeasing Muslims) while the Balakot strikes on Pakistan represented ‘desh bhakti’. The Congress and other parties were, therefore, soft on ‘separatism’, ‘terrorism’ and Pakistan because, unlike the BJP, they needed Muslim votes.

Second, through dramatic policies signalling its uncompromising attitude and willingness to take risks. Whereas Narasimha Rao and I.K. Gujral passed up on the nuclear tests fearing economic sanctions, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on coming to power, immediately ordered the preparation for nuclear tests. But his government just lasted for 13 days. Nevertheless, a few weeks into his new term in 1998, Vajpayee announced that India was now a nuclear power and declared that the ‘greatest meaning’ of the just conducted tests was that it had ‘given India Shakti (power)’.

While then-Defence Minister George Fernandes had identified China as India’s ‘potential threat number one’ just before the nuclear tests, Home Minister L.K. Advani made clear that the tests were meant for Pakistan. “India’s nuclear weapons capability showed the country’s resolve to deal firmly with Pakistan”, and it was “Pakistan’s clandestine preparations that forced us to take the path of nuclear deterrence,” Advani told the media days after the tests.

The tests were incredibly popular and the Sangh Parivar held celebratory demonstrations throughout India. An opinion poll conducted the day following the tests found that 91 per cent of people supported the tests; while 67 per cent felt the BJP-led coalition was ‘strong and would safeguard their security’, a sentiment that was strengthened a year later with India’s eventual success in the Kargil War.

We saw the same risk-taking with the removal of Article 370, another policy that earned the opprobrium of the world (although to a lesser degree), and the publicly touted surgical strikes, both of which enhanced the BJP’s national security credibility. The principal threat in the BJP worldview always has to be Pakistan, because its hawkish national security stance is essentially and inescapably linked to the domestic politics of anti-Muslim prejudice. On China, for instance, as the recent episode attests, the BJP policy is almost indistinguishable from that of the Congress.

Third, the rhetoric of contrasting ‘human rights’ against national security as conflicting goals, and staking a claim to the latter while associating its opponents with the former. In the 2019 campaign, Modi alleged that the Congress repealed Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) “due to its policy of appeasement and to satisfy its vote bank,” thus “bowing its head before terrorism”. The BJP had declared in its 2009 manifesto that the country had seen repeated terrorist attacks because the “Prime Minister spent sleepless nights agonising over the plight of terror suspects.” By painting the Left-wing members of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) as sympathetic to Maoists (Modi termed social activist Harsh Mander a ‘Maoist’ in 2013), the BJP projected the Congress as “soft on Maoism” despite the ruthless “Operation Green Hunt” launched by P. Chidambaram.

Fourth, the crafty use of language — the constant repetition of certain terms and slogans to drill home the BJP’s toughness on national security. Advani popularised the term “hot pursuit” to advocate for a policy of hunting down terrorists who had fled across the border (although the policy was never executed). Similarly, the slogan of ‘giving the Army a free hand’, which the BJP first used in its manifesto in 1998. This phrase is effectively meaningless because the Army can only follow the policy of the civilian administration.

Another slogan that the BJP popularised to attack the UPA was ‘talks and terror can’t go together’ despite the constant talks between the Vajpayee administration and Pakistan, as also in the early phase of the Modi era. The much-touted ‘surgical strikes’ were carried out even before Modi became prime minister, but not publicised because, in the words of former NSA Shivshankar Menon, “they were not aimed at the domestic constituency”. Under the Modi government, though, surgical strikes became a household byword for the resolve of ‘New India’.

Fifth, through a securitisation of politics where every issue becomes a national security issue. The BJP made Bangladeshi immigrants from the early 1990s a national security issue. That arc continues to the present day where (only Muslim) immigrants are seen as security threats who must be identified and excised from the national community with the pincer movement of the CAA and the NRC.


Also read: From catch-all to catch-none party, it’s still not too late for Congress


All about perception

In an objective sense, India’s national security is in poor shape. Terrorism has registered an upsurge in the Kashmir Valley. Our neighbours are either alienated or outright hostile, with even Nepal adopting a confrontationist pose. PM Modi has meekly retreated from humiliation at the hands of China.

But politics is about perception. The BJP has built a deep-rooted perception about its competence on national security over the decades and it won’t be lost any time soon. In the larger sweep of history, this China episode — unless it escalates further — is likely to be remembered much like the 2001 Agra summit, a minor setback that carried little relevance to the broader political dynamics beyond the immediate embarrassment for the ruling BJP.

Asim Ali and Ankita Barthwal are research associates at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Views are personal.

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67 COMMENTS

  1. well difficult to agree on that one as except for kashmir which has always been in struggle, rest of the country has not seen any terrorist attack in the last six years. whether it is due to the terror organizations going weak, or our intelligence getting stronger is up for debate. but we dont really here news about a blast in hyderabad, explosion in mumbai local train, firing in a bakery etc.. even with the chinese we hear that there is a retreat going on.

  2. What kind of power is India today? It is not a Great Power, despite having range of nuclear weapons and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Since it lacks serious extra regional power projection capabilities, does not decisively dominate its own region, and is not a system shaping power in either economic or military balance terms. But it is dependent on the blessings of what U.S. has been given them to rise as a great power.

  3. Congress has come a long way in spearheading India’s national interest on SECURITY which starts from our freedom struggle, that saw Congress face & fight TWO WORLD WAR, with India’s interest In Tact that also saw at the turn of the 19th century India facing a Bubonic plague and ultimately winning Independence in 1947. It was the Shrewdness of Nehruji our 1st and late PM that got india 3/4 of Kashmir and because of the loss of lives ou our Regular soldiers at the hands across the border jehadis
    we could not pocket complete Kashmir. Pondicherry & Goa joined India. Nehruji Returned empty handed Chinese Top Head after 20hrs. Of Marathon meeting on AKSAI CHIN IN 1959 IN JEW DEHI the snub that led to 1962 war and loosing AC. The CHINESE LITERALLY “SNATCHED”AC on the strength of Military power & then declared UNILATERAL CEASE FIRE. It is wrong to say about softness of India’s immediate POST INDEPENDENCE GOVT. ON NATIONAL SECURITY.After NEHRUJI demise Late Shastri gave a drubbing to PAK in 1965, followed by a border drubbing to China in 1967, to PAK in 1971 followed by Kargil victory.
    ONE THOUGHT CROSSES THE MIND NEVER SO MUCH HUFF & PUFF WAS SEEN IN THE PREVIOUS BRUSHES THAT WE SEE TODAY.
    LATE VAJPAYEE govt HANDLED KARGIL WITH MATURITY and there was never so tension and speaking in One voice. To Terrorist Congress has always delivered a DEADLY blow. World took India seriously on TERRORIST PROBLEM after US 2 towers
    were blown off.
    It is Congress way of giving a befitting reply to Terrorist. Congress is all the time tempted to prove the many surgical strikes on table but in tune with the armed forces has resisted from chest thumping.

  4. The Congress’s ineffective response to the 2008 Mumbai shootout, which was proven Pakistan perfidyy ensured that it completely lost any residual credibility on national security issues.

  5. Though I have been a supporter of BJP under Modi, I have concluded that Modi government was slow in responding to the Chinese. Like school boys, his government stuck to rule book and exposed our soldiers to unnecessary death and injury. When the violation occurred at Pyangong lake, India ought to have adopted aggressive attitude towards chinese, and allowed our soldiers to carry weapons and with instructions to fire in case of hostility or attacks on them. The government also ought to have called all-party meeting soon as incursion occurred at Pyangong lake. This government has been tardy. Now, we have one more incursion or needling at Despong. This government is cowering before China. Soldiers are becoming the canon fodder.

    • I presume you were a supporter of Modi because he showed Hindu power by beating up Indian Muslims. However, he cannot do the same with China. Now you know. Does your support diminish ? Probably not. Because beating up Indian Muslims gives a sense of victory like no other for you.

  6. To castigate those who political views are different from your as uneducated or worse, smacks of elitiest tendencies. Please learn to respect democracy, which means the will of the voting majority. When this majority was voting for Congress, I never read the term majoritism bandied about in the manner it is now.

    • It was never majoritarion except in the minds of biased commentators. The vote percentage for Congress used to be in the 20s and never crossed the high 40s even when it was ruling with a parliamentary majority. The BJP’s vote share is in the 30s now. Much of this majoritarion narrative is nothing more then myth making by a section of media.

  7. “Modi is anti muslim….” a perception built by Congress to keep him ostracized by the community.

    Isn’t it??

    • It is a perception he built himself. In fact, that is his sole attraction for Hindus. He can wreck the economy, mishandle Covid, let China take land. But he is the first real Hindu leader in 1000 years.

      • Your views are highly biased. You are unable to look at any scenario without the lens of Hindu-Muslim divide.
        It was useless of you to bring the topic of Hindu-Muslim on an article related to India-China conflict.

  8. The history shows that except for Indira era , the Congress has been consistently weak on national security. The BJP has been tough,be it Kargil or talking with Pak or Kashmir and now
    on China.Perception cannot stand on propaganda for long.

  9. It is in fact true perception tht BJP mean india security. Its very evident not only in their speach in their action n intent too..
    See congress, they openly publickly appeased muslims.. its very evident in their speach n action.
    Perception is real. It is created by ur own speach, action and intent..

  10. Hindus are into sado masochism. They like to torture others and they don’t mind suffering for it. Modi is infallible and so India has to suffer. Another 4 years to go.

  11. Shut up you lefties and congress paid media ,,,I always read your article,always write against ruling party and you know how congress solve security threats by signing all enemy favour to resolve disputes ,,,lots of land in Ladakh was given to chinese in several decades by Congress ruling government

  12. Electorates are not so naive that they will only be lured by media and propaganda
    The perception is built by the act of the government and rightly voted and continue to vote for the current government
    The reason being the opposition congress party is not only weak and indecisive but people has lost trust with them and feel that for personal reason few of the heads can even sell the national interest

  13. Neither China,nor Nepal or even Pakistan can do anything to India.

    Indian are enough to handle this and the world is with India other than these countries.

  14. I can’t agree more.
    Misinformation by social media is devoured as gospel of truth by the people. When this happens with so called educated persons, democracy is in real danger.
    No attempt to seek truth.

    • So what is the truth ? Chowkidar beat China ? The BJP has an IT cell, it is always leading, let them circulate the truth to 1 crore Hindus.

      • Oh here i can see, one thing i must accept, the issue of unemployment is really a very major issue and government should realle look into it because then people like you have so much free time to sit and comment will have a job to do

  15. The article is quite balanced except the para towards the end- “In an objective sense, India’s national security is in poor shape. Terrorism has registered an upsurge in the Kashmir Valley. Our neighbours are either alienated or outright hostile, with even Nepal adopting a confrontationist pose. PM Modi has meekly retreated from humiliation at the hands of China. ‘ This para surely makes it a The Print article!

  16. People are no more fools. They can see for themselves the transformation India has undergone since 2014. The young population is intelligent to gauge who is doing what and who can rule the country or who has interest above the National interest. No media house needs to tell this population ….they can see for themselves

  17. The BJP owning national security means the corrupt chowkidar will reign, Xi will take ,ore land, Nepal and Pak. will join in. All the while, the BJP will make Indians fight. The BJP is the catalyst for Tukde, tukde.

  18. The way Congress party and its 50 +years come-back kid is working now- a -days as Chinese resident agent in New Delhi appointed to destroy the morale of Indian public and distract the Governments attention from nation security threats ,the performance of both- the Party & come-back kid performance is under constant watch by the common people of India. He may be following some secrete clauses of MOU signed with the Communist party of China in 2008. His Glorification by the domesticated journalists in some anti-Modi news magazines and news portal is not going to whiten the face which has become grey, if not black.

    As for as BJP is concerned, Nationalism is in the veins of its workers , in its leaders and even in its supporters. Since the day one of 2014, its Government is working to provide armed forces latest equipments ,hardware to upgrade fighting capabilities of armed forces. It upgraded border infrastructure also. That is not likened by Chinese and is one of the reason for current conflict.
    It is the time when every body should support our armed forces, Government and civil authorities in performance of their job.

  19. Suppose China is not there? Who will be responsible for the security of India? Whether you like it or not, responsibility is with Modi and his team only .

  20. The Chinese face off has not ended.
    Much more excitement, leadership failures, successes awaited.
    Do not misjudge anyone, Xi, Modi or and other Singh /Chung Foo.
    The WWIII has excitement and is long on cyber and other issues wrecking our lives. Focus there. Build our cyber arsenal.

  21. Have all our neighbours turned hostile … as mentioned above … secondly, has complete nepali race accepted Oli’s Verdict … questionable !!

    Is BJP completely responsible for Chinese cheat in Galwan … questionable !!

    I don’t see solution to your editing … Doesn’t seem factual …. rather exaggeration … I m not ardent supporter of BJP ….but mentioned its name b’cos it seems …the Complete article is based against a party and not connected anywhere to an issue of national interest thus concluding with some interesting solution ….

    My perception …. it may be wrong

  22. Anything the BJP does will be seen through a wrong eye by the Congress because these people are doing much more development than what they have done. So history will not change people knows it.
    Put the nation first.

  23. With respect to safety of a nation leaders of the caliber of Roosevelt ,Churchill, Mrs Gandhi are the right type who can ensure safety with the aid of their military might. Now, PM Modi is in that mould. A glimpse was seen during his first tenure with his bold decisions . China is different cup of tea and Modi himself was sceptical of the outcome , as on paper China appeared strong. But the Galwan conflict has given much needed confidence to the PM and now he is sure that china is not invincible. The congress party leaders lack of faith in our military claims and of course Modi and rather believed Chinese tweets , has not gone well with people as reports from foreign intelligence show more casualties on Chinese side. On top of it the clandestine MOU of congress party with CCP has exposed Rahul n his mother thoroughly.

  24. The reputation of Congress being weak goes back to Nehru. Nehruvian idea of nations do not need armies, was what caused the China debacle. Nehru’s cavalier handling of the defenses of India. At the end of the day buck stops at the foot of Nehru. Subsequent Congress regimes have not done much. In recent times, the security has shifted to how we handle Pakistan and Terror emanating from Pakistan. Despite being in the Government for most of this period, Congress has not made a dent, let alone solve the problem.

    As for BJP being tough on China. It is an expectation that is unrealistic. BJP’s actions against China will not matter much. The interaction of Pakistan is where the perception stems from.

    As for Rahul Gandhi, he is a bit of a PAPPU. Congress party is a spent force. They should never have existed in the first place. It was a disservice to the nation that they continued and co-opted the entire legacy of the freedom movement.

  25. Territory lost or gifted to China in prior to 2014 and after that has to be compared. If after 2014. Based on this analysis, efficiency of the governments need to be compared.

  26. This is a biased view…come on…it reeks of polarization and decades old practice of surrender to the dynasty. Long live the King!!

  27. BJP has always been soft on relations with China by NAMO’s sake. After all it has been more than 20 years that Modi has meticulously grown his relationship, friendship with China. He would not have expected in his worst of dreams that Chinese leadership would betray him. Now that he experienced, he may become tough with them. Let’s hope time will show how tough he has become.

  28. BJP ‘s internal as well as external policies has discredited India sevearly.These policies of BJP have been to win elections by polarising voters without considering longterm and prudent relation building with neighbouring countries .This will in turn destroy our economy.

  29. These are all anti Modi people without any worth write nonsense .He is very strong man who can save our motherland.Majority Indians trust him. No one wants a man from a same family to rule our country for generations.

  30. Muslims have the first right on India’s resources – was it a Congress PM or a BJP PM who said this?

    I couldn’t sleep yesterday thinking of the terrorist’s welfare – was it a Congress PM or a BJP PM who said this?

    We are a Muslim party – was it a Congress leader or a BJP leader who said this?

    • The BJP says it is a Hindu party. Xi gave Modi and India a beating. What did Hindus do ? Surrender. If you had 30% Muslims in the army, you would see the difference.

  31. No transparency, full of lies ,misleading the country full of propaganda through paid media, judiciary, election commission, CBI and all law agencies used for own benefit where possible, AND USE TROLLS TO CHARACTER ASSAULT ON ANYONE QUESTIONING THEM AND USE RELIGION AS A MEANS TO DIVIDE AND RULE , 80% HINDUS REST MUSLIMS AND OTHER RELIGIONS.
    THE RSS IS THE SNAKE THAT NEED ITS HEAD CUT OFF.

  32. No transparency, full of lies ,misleading the country full of propaganda through paid media, judiciary, election commission, CBI and all law agencies used for own benefit where possible, AND USE TROLLS TO CHARACTER ASSAULT ON ANYONE QUESTIONING THEM AND USE RELIGION AS A MEANS TO DIVIDE AND RULE , 80% HINDUS REST MUSLIMS AND OTHER RELIGIONS.
    THE RSS IS THE SNAKE THAT NEED ITS HEAD CUT OFF.

  33. Modi ji is a such a wonderful person , that you can not know what he would say. But Rahul ji is blunt and aggressive. Modi ji’s silence is his best weapon. He will not react or answer questions immediately , takes time to hit back so vigorously that opposition are taken aback.

    In Nehru era world leaders were saying that what would Nehru say , when some kind of crisis occur. Like World is watching INDIA and they would also wait for Modi ji reaction to some kind of problems occur world wide.
    So Modiji’s silence can’t be taken as his weakness or failure , since he will hit back with full vigour

  34. Rahul Gandhi has himself successfully created the perception that he is intellectually shallow, privileged by dynasty, ineffective, irresponsible, ignorant, uneducated, idiot Duffer and a turncoat traitor.
    His greatest achievement is that he created this perception all by himself!!!!! It takes hard work to achieve all of the above.

  35. No BJP /Modi not tough. This going to be converted into a business deal. More Chinese goods are imported during this govt and it may continue more, which we are going to depend (adopted) to them.

  36. When views are personal, why does the print publish it under it’s name?? Is there no liability for wrong publishment

  37. This is the party that gave a personal escort to free terrorists in exchange for hostages on IC814. They were too incompetent to do anything else. This is the national security party? Give me a break

  38. Mr Raman Murthy : There is also another factor at play here: paid media.

    The bulk of India’s press platforms today are in the business of paid news and cannot afford to not get revenues emanating from government advertising. And to jump on to that lucrative bandwagon, one has to play ball with the BJP government. Thus, barring a few platforms such as The Wire, The Print, The Hindu etc., most Indian media houses are solidly pro Modi and pro BJP. This pro BJP media shapes the perceptions you refer to in your excellent comment. They inflate Modi’s negligible achievements, downplay his many failures and hit Rahul Gandhi under the belt.

    To this one must add deft image management by Modi using professional PR and lobby firms such as APCO Worldwide (apcoworldwide.com) and other outfits that for a fat fee will do anything for anybody. APCO has been known to burnish the image of Kazakhstan’s dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev, promote the pro-smoking legislation of Phillip Morris and many other dubious clients. APCO was the force behind the Vibrant Gujarat nonsense that produced little more than Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) for Gujarat but that is another story.

    What is truly mind-boggling amidst all this, is the fact that educated middle-classes swallow all this nonsense and hype without any critical questions. They have always wanted a benevolent dictator and in Modi they have one. Although the man is anything but benevolent.

  39. “The principal threat in the BJP worldview always has to be Pakistan, because its hawkish national security stance is essentially and inescapably linked to the domestic politics of anti-Muslim prejudice” – here, are we assuming that Indian Muslims support Pakistan? this is a very strange way of putting across a point, when you’re trying to ding the party, you’re also dinging the citizens

  40. it seems that someone too much sympathetic to Congress and too sorry about the Congress’s loss has written the story.

  41. You moron do u think the army needs to put up an application on a daily basis to civil administration to shell Pakistani bunkers. You pseudo journalist.

    • absolutely rightly said by you .. hidden jihadi muslims like these are true cancer to nation than porkis or chinese

  42. The authors certainly showcase their bias and perception about Modi and BJP. They don’t present data about preparedness on the NE border that had occurred in the last 6 years, defense procurement progress, creation of CDS, removing constitutional ambiguity by revoking temporary status of 370, and a no nonsense approach with Pakistan. Public observes and develops “perception” unlike the authors who perceive and accordingly research. Sad.

  43. Yes, I agree, Congress or BJP, perception is everything. The so-called educated people just go by the headlines or news apps on their mobiles. They do not (in fact, cannot) read even a single newspaper fully. So we have these beliefs: BJP/Modi – tough, Congress/Rahul – weak.

    • You are correct. Modiji’s silence can not be taken as a weakness or failure , he waits for an opportunity to reply/ hit back. Whereas Rahul is blunt and aggressive. But luck do not favour him. He does not wait to criticise or answer to questions. That habit he should change. He is clever and kind . Then he would come near to the throne

    • Congratulations to Asim Ali, the muzlim man writer and Ankita Barthwal, hindu lady writer for combining to write on something, which is not an assumption but a known TRUTH. And congratulations to theprint for chosing such a writer combination and dillying dallying between telling TRUTH to praise BJP / Modi and doctoring incidents to attack BJP / Modi as an originally commu-neech sympathiser.

    • Dear sir Ramana Murthy, Seems a very poor conclusion, without even looking at the news headlines, like muzlims, a 33% populated minority (A joke ???) have the 1st priority of natural resources, RSS and Hindu-terror is responsible for Mumbai attack (senior leader, diggi-baba, no-one objected), are you fully able to understand headlines sir ???

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