JAMMU, Sep 21: Senior BJP leader and former Minister Bali Bhagat launched a blistering attack on former Vice President Hamid Ansari over his recent remarks on “Hindu right-wing communalism” at the A.G. Noorani Memorial Lecture in New Delhi. Ansari cited a historical observation attributed to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru while discussing A.G. Noorani’s writings.
Bhagat said Ansari’s remarks reflected what he described as a “deeply disturbing mindset” towards India’s majority community.
“When Hamid Ansari was in government, he spoke the language of the government. After leaving office, he appears to have found a platform from which to question the cultural and civilisational foundations of the very country he once represented. This is political hypocrisy at its worst. Old habits die hard,” Bhagat said.
Taking aim at the Congress leadership, Bhagat alleged that Ansari’s remarks fit into the ideological narrative being pushed by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.
“The country wants to know whether this is merely Hamid Ansari’s personal political narrative or whether it reflects the larger thinking of the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress ecosystem. Today, whenever the Hindu cultural mainstream is attacked or questioned, the same political ecosystem appears to find space for such narratives,” Bhagat said.
He further alleged that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership have increasingly provided political space to narratives that, in his view, create suspicion around Hindu society.
“There is a visible ideological connection in the politics being promoted by Rahul Gandhi and the kind of arguments now being repeated by people associated with this broader political ecosystem. They may use different platforms and different words, but the underlying narrative remains the same—question Hindu nationalism, question Hindu identity and then present it as a defence of democracy,” he said.
Bhagat accused Ansari of repeatedly contributing to what he described as a divisive discourse.
“A former Vice President should be a statesman who unites the country, not someone who selectively resurrects narratives that place the majority community in the dock. India’s Hindu society does not need a certificate of nationalism from Hamid Ansari, Rahul Gandhi or anyone else,” he asserted.
Bhagat said freedom of expression is guaranteed under the Constitution, but former holders of high constitutional office also carry a responsibility to maintain dignity and social harmony.
“You cannot use the prestige of constitutional office when in power and then, after leaving office, use that same stature to attack the national mainstream. To me, such conduct amounts to betrayal of the national spirit,” Bhagat said.
He concluded: “When a former constitutional office-holder repeatedly undermines the national ethos and echoes a narrative that targets the cultural mainstream, I have no hesitation in calling such conduct traitorous to the spirit of the nation. A statesman should unite India—not provide ammunition to those seeking to divide it.”