ISIS-like Ideologies Now Converging With Ultra-Left, Says Arun Jaitley, Cites JNU Incident as Example

New Delhi, Sept 24: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday expressed concern over what he described as 'convergence of ISIS-like ideologies with the extreme-Left'. To prove his point, Jaitley

Updated: September 25, 2017 12:26 AM IST

By India.com News Desk

ISIS-like Ideologies Now Converging With Ultra-Left, Says Arun Jaitley, Cites JNU Incident as Example
(File image/PTI)

New Delhi, Sept 24: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday expressed concern over what he described as ‘convergence of ISIS-like ideologies with the extreme-Left’.

Highlights

  • Jaitley said the incident in JNU last year validates his claim.
  • He also expressed concern over the rapid 'replacement of Sufism with Wahhabism'.
  • Demand for political autonomy is now turning into Islamist movements, he added.

To prove his point, Jaitley cited the controversy in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2016, after a group of leftist students organised a commemoration event for executed terrorist Afzal Guru.

“The incident that recently took place in Jawaharlal Nehru University is a testament to this convergence. Those who took the forefront in supporting this are cheerleaders of this convergence,” Jaitley said, while speaking at the National Seminar on Integral Humanism-Indian Way of Attaining Sustainable Development Program here.

The BJP veteran also cautioned against the “rapid replacement of Sufism with Wahhabism” in many parts of India, particularly the Kashmir Valley.

With rise of Wahhabism, Jaitley said, the demand for political autonomy has turned into an “Islamist” movement.

“You can see the signs throughout India. I feel India is fortunate that elements like ISIS are few as compared to other countries,” the Minister said, crediting Sufism as one of the reasons behind the dearth of takers of violent Islamist ideology among the Indian Muslims.

Jaitley, however, warned of a nexus developing between the extreme-Left forces and hardline Islamists. “The opinions arising from them and ultra-left opinions are converging in some sectors,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Communism is fading away

Jaitley, in his address, said communism is gradually losing space from all parts of India. Its roots are also weakening in Kerala and West Bengal, Jaitley added, where the ideology had a firm grip post independence.

“The ideology of these was to flag the problems of the common man, which later turned into a necessity among others,” Jaitley remarked.

The left-wing parties are facing rapid electoral reverses not just in India, but across other parts of the world where it was once consolidated, the Minister pointed out.

“Electoral relevance is also declining, as we have seen post the breakup of the Soviet Union and abandonment of state-controlled economy by China,” he said.

Left and Right turning irrelevant, BJP is the new Centre

Years after BJP patriarch L K Advani said BJP occupies one end of the ideological pole, Jaitley claimed that the saffron party is now ideologically positioned towards Centre.

“Traditional political brands like the left and right are gradually fading out,” he said, adding that the Congress, which once occupied the Centre, has ceded its space to the BJP.

As a force positioned in the Centre, Jaitley pointed out, BJP needs to act in a wise manner which does not alienate it from the diverse section of the society.

The party leaders, he said, particularly those in the government, should refrain from making remarks which hurts the BJP’s prospects to capitalise on the centrestage.

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