'Akhand Bharat' Ram Madhav's personal view: BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP has distanced from party general secretary Ram Madhav’s remarks about India, Pakistan and Bangladesh reuniting as “Akhand Bharat”. The party dubbed it as his personal view and said India and Pakistan engage with each other as two sovereign states. “India and Pakistan negotiate as sovereign nations. That remains the truth. “His (Madhav) answer should be seen in that context of the question. He has a right to his own views. Government’s position needs no clarification on this,” BJP spokesperson MJ Akbar told reporters in response to queries regarding talk of “Akhand Bharat” while PM Narendra Modi was trying to de-freeze the ice in the ties of both countries.

Akbar talked of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s address in Lahore to underline that BJP accepts Pakistan as a sovereign nation. The clarification holds significance as it appeared an attempt to allay the apprehensions that Madhav’s remarks may spook the hardliners in Pakistan that can force the civilian administration in Islamabad to draw back from reciprocating to PM Narendra Modi’s gestures to engage with Islamabad.

Hardliners in Pakistan have in the past blocked attempts to normalise the relations by creating a public sentiment against the civilian government in Islamabad.

In fact, Jamaat-e-Islami called PM Vajpayee’s visit to Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore in 1999 as a desecration of the monument and managed to scuttle the peace initiative from Indian side.

Officials of RSS refused to comment on this issue in the current situation. “The concept of Akhand Bharat is a cultural concept. While political unity may not be necessary or possible, the fact remains that partition (of India) was artificial.

Countries which have gone out of India have not prospered. But, the current discussion on this issue doesn’t have depth, it has bitterness,” confided a RSS office bearer.