Senior BJP leader Trivendra Singh Rawat has warned against foreign powers attempting to divide India. Speaking at a conference in Sikanderpur, Rawat claimed that international powers could try to break and lure people in the country to their side. Rawat accused the 2014 Lok Sabha elections of being influenced by petrodollars in an attempt to crush Hindutva. The former Uttarakhand chief minister added that the enlightened class should work together to prevent this from happening.
Rawat also stated that during the time the structure of Ayodhya was demolished by “karsevaks,” BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan were toppled. He claimed that at this time, the Hindus were united in the name of nationalism, and nationalist forces were united. Rawat further alleged that these international powers could try to break India again to weaken the country. It is the responsibility of the enlightened class to prevent it from happening.
Rawat’s remarks come as India navigates politically sensitive waters, including protests in the country over controversial reforms to the country’s agriculture sector, as well as rising tensions with neighboring Pakistan. The BJP, India’s ruling party, has faced scrutiny in recent years over its Hindu nationalist agenda, with critics accusing the party of trying to erode India’s secular democracy.
