Udaipur : The Congress has debated for two days on the political response to the BJP’s hard Hindutva line during its ongoing ‘Chintan Shivir’ here.There appeared to be a division with regards to this with the veterans on side and the younger group seeking a more softer stance.Many veterans were of the view that the Congress should adhere to its strong secular character with inclusive agenda to counter the BJP and rather refrain from trying to bat at the BJP’s pitch which could be counter productive, sources said.The younger, on the other hand, is more restless about toeing the soft line of indulging and participating in religious programmes.No final view has been taken, but leaders of Uttar Pradesh have suggested that the party should participate in religious programmes so that it is not isolated, sources said.
However, the centrists have argued that Rahul Gandhi’s visit to temples have not given any desired results and it will be good to stick to its core secular ideology which the party can take on and counter the BJP.After all the debates done, the CWC resolution will tell what the Congress has decided this evening but its unlikely that CWC will endorse such proposals — one of the General Secretaries during informal talks revealed that when the talk of taking credit of Ayodhya was proposed by someone it was turned down.In her inaugural address at the Congress ‘Chintan Shivir’ on Friday, Sonia Gandhi targetted the BJP and alleged that the party was constantly ‘playing the polarisation game and instilling fear in the public’.She said, “By now it has become abundantly and painfully clear what Prime Minister Modi and his colleagues really mean by their slogan maximum governance, minimum government. It means keeping the country in a permanent state of polarisation, compelling people to live in a constant state of fear and insecurity, viciously targeting victimising and often brutalising the minorities who are an integral part of our society and equal citizens of our Republic.”