JD(U) takes a shot at BJP after row over 'Ishwar Allah': 'Embrace Gandhian socialism envisaged by Vajpayee'

The rendition of 'Ishwar Allah Tero Naam' at an event to commemorate the life of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Patna evoked strong protests from a section of the crowd. (Getty Images)

The Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) has offered a word of advice to the Bharatiya Janata Party, suggesting that its alliance partner follow the Gandhian socialism as envisaged by its founding father Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The remarks from the JD(U) came in wake of protests faced by a folk singer for signing the lines of "Ishwar Allah tero naam" during her rendition of the 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' bhajan, at an event to commemorate the life of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary in Patna on Wednesday.

The renowned folk singer, Devi, apologised for singing the lines after around 50 people in the gathering protested against the rendition.

On Friday, JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said 'Raghupati Raghav' and 'Vaishnav Jan' were among the favourite Gandhi bhajans sung across the world wherever Indian diaspora is present.

"The protest of Raghupati Raghav is unacceptable and condemnable. After all, it was Vajpayee who adopted Gandhian socialism to reinforce his cohesive and assimilative politics. Let BJP follow Gandhian socialism as envisaged by AB Vajpayee,” Kumar told The Indian Express.

BJP's connect to Gandhian socialism

Soon after its formation following a split with the Janata Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Vajpayee as its first president, adopted Gandhian socialism as a party policy.

The adoption of Gandhian socialism had faced strong objection from party vice-president Vijaya Raje Scindia who claimed that it would turn the party into a photocopy of the Congress. She withdrew the objection saying that the party's senior leaders had clarified that the BJP's socialism had 'Indian content' unlike that of Karl Marx and that the socialism adopted by the BJP was the 'jan kalyanwad' of Indian tradition and 'integral humanism' that Deen Dayal Upadhayay had argued.

The BJP continued on the path of Gandhian socialism until its drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections in 1984 -- the party won only 2 seats -- and returned to the path of Hindu fundamentalism.

Gandhi embedded in Nitish Kumar's politics: JD(U)

The JD(U) leader also sought to draw a distinction between the BJP and the politics followed by their party leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

"Mahatma Gandhi is deeply embedded in the politics of our leader Nitish Kumar. From organising the grand 150th-anniversary celebrations to making a Gandhi memorial building, Bapu Tower, to calling the biggest auditorium in Patna Bapu Sabhagar, Gandhi’s ideals are practised and emulated,” he said.

The heckling of a the folk singer by a section of the crowd in Patna had triggered a sharp reaction from BJP leader and former Union minister Shahnawaz Hussain who termed the disruption "the height of intolerance".

Former Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was among the organisers of the event, also said the incident should not have happened.