As the stage is set in Parliament for a debate on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition arrest, crackdown on students and the Rohith Vemula suicide, the BJP is itching for what it calls a “fight of ideas.” Claiming that the current controversy has galvanised its rank and file, party president Amit Shah, sources said, is formulating an “aggressive” high-decibel campaign.

Speaking to The Indian Express on the condition that he not be named, a top party leader said: “We are ready to debate JNU, we will present a robust defence of our actions. Any debate will be Advantage BJP. There is not an iota of surprise that strong reactions have come from Leftists and JNU scholars. What else do you expect from Maoists and their supporters? They were always against us; and now more than ever because despite their campaign, people gave us a majority in Parliament. Our strategy is to isolate those in JNU who support Maoism and Kashmir azadi.”

When asked about the student protests and the possibility that the party may lose support in a section of the campus, the senior BJP leader said: “Get out of New Delhi and see who all are supporting us.”

The thinking in the top BJP brass is that the debate is a “liberal, elite” issue, drummed up by the English-language press and finds hardly an echo outside the capital. The attempt to show it as a coalition of poor, Dalit and minority students, they feel, is a distortion. “Most of those who are protesting are fringe groups,” said a top leader.

In fact, the party leaders believe that all this buzz about “nationalism” and “patriotism” suits them and their cadres. “The cadre is enthused after the JNU incident,” said a senior Cabinet Minister. “The focus of the media is away from negative issues.”

There is also talk in the party and government of bringing in changes in the manner in which JNU is run, including the way students are graded. Some top BJP leaders claim that the student-teacher relationship is strong on campus because teachers “blackmail” students given the power they have in internal grading. Incidentally, all IITs and autonomous institutions, including IIMs, have an internal assessment system.

When it comes to violent lawyers and their intimidation of journalists, BJP leaders are in denial. Sources said that in the Parliament debate, they are likely to make token noises about the assault on journalists. A BJP leader summed up the party’s majority view: “What lawyers did in the Patiala court, you can dub it hooliganism but it is certainly not sedition. Please explain how their conduct is deshdroh?”

Contrary to the impression that Delhi police chief B S Bassi is under scrutiny, a top BJP leader said: “JNU is the bastion of anti-nationalism, Bassi is on the right track.”

Said a senior BJP leader: “I challenge you to put on vote the JNU issue on your website. People all over India are fed up of anti-India slogans inside the government-funded university when jawans are dying on the border.”

When told that the campaign against students hurts the government’s image and may attract charges of intolerance and high-handedness, the BJP leader said: “These are your views. We know the history of India. How Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, the countries that were once part of India, were born. We have to isolate people who want to support the Kashmir insurgency and agenda of terrorists. That is an act of nationalism. We are anything but confused.”

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