PM’s Sanatan call may cause trouble for opposition | India News

NEW DELHI: PM Modi’s comment, at an informal interaction with members of the Union council of ministers on Wednesday, on the need to protect ‘Sanatan Dharma’ is considered significant. It comes in the run-up to assembly polls and acts as a nudge to BJP to put it in the fray, especially in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where such themes have traditionally had traction and where the party is pitted against Congress.It has the potential to complicate matters for the opposition, especiallyCongress which has spoken in different voices on the issue.

It is significant also because the PM has often avoided weighing in on issues. Moreover, the controversy coincides with the G20 summit and the government’s keenness to keep the focus on the crucial geopolitical meeting. “BJP’s political calculations apart, the PM obviously appears to feel that the call for ‘eradication of Sanatan Dharma’ crossed a line and the challenge should not be allowed to go uncontested,” a government source said.

The prime minister’s stress on the need to calibrate the response on the ‘Bharat versus India’ conflict, sources surmised, could be because of the concern that those not familiar with the history and nuance of the issue may not be able to do justice to the theme which is part of the “decolonisation project”.

The informal huddle took place ahead of the Cabinet meeting called to discuss the G20 meeting that opens on Saturday.