New Delhi:
BJP president Rajnath Singh will lead a protest march to Union Home Minister Sushil Shinde's residence today to protest against his "saffron terror" remark. The BJP is demanding an apology from the minister, who is also the Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha. It has also threatened to boycott him in Parliament.
The decision to carry out a protest march against Mr Shinde was taken at a party meeting yesterday, where BJP top brass also discussed the party's strategy for the Budget Session of Parliament which begins on Thursday.
Mr Shinde had made the controversial remarks at a Congress conclave in Jaipur last month. "We have got an investigation report that be it the RSS or BJP, their training camps are promoting Hindu terrorism." He later said he meant "saffron terrorism" not "Hindu terrorism."
If the Home Minister does not apologise for his comments, the BJP, sources said, could even boycott Mr Shinde in Parliament, which will entail not allowing him to speak at all in either House by disrupting proceedings every time he rises. The opposition did this with P Chidambaram over 2G allegations against him for an entire Parliament session in 2011.
By continuing to attack Mr Shinde, the BJP's is attempting to regroup its traditional Hindu vote bank as part of a larger Hindutva relaunch plan for elections 2014.
Meanwhile, the NDA is also meeting this evening to chalk out its strategy for the crucial Budget Session.