We'll worry about Kashmir, you worry about 'your' ISIS: BJP's Ram Madhav tells Al Jazeera journo

Senior BJP leader and national general secretary of the party Ram Madhav might have unwittingly put himself in the spotlight of international media after a massive goof up during an interview with Al Jazeera. Madhav had agreed to be part of the segment titled, ‘Is Modi’s India flirting with fascism?’ and he was there to defend the government against such allegations. However, during the course of the interview, Madhav said “your ISIS” to the Muslim anchor while defending his point about the terror group acquiring nuclear weapons. Mehdi Hasan, the Al Jazeera anchor, was visibly shocked and repeated “my ISIS,” thrice. Madhav realised his error and laughed to dispense any tension but it was not very helpful. Even though the BJP leader did not apologise, he said, “What I was trying to say is ISIS…” Hasan did not let it go easily. The seasoned journalist took to social media and tweeted this:

The moment my latest @AJHeadtoHead guest, the BJP's gen sec, referred to me & ISIS with the line 'your ISIS...' (!) https://t.co/HWY8B4wdNy

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) December 26, 2015

The show ‘Head to head’, was a debate on BJP’s ideologies and how the right-wing Hindu nationalism is affecting the nation and was meant to challenge Ram Madhav, who also in past was the spokesperson from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Describing the BJP as a Hindu party, Hasan asked, “So, is communal violence on rise in Modi’s India and is the world’s largest democracy now flirting with fascism?”

Hasan went all guns blazing from the start of the interview and Madhav, rather than being articulate and dealing with the questions like a senior leader, started on a defensive note. Questions about eminent personalities returning their awards citing rising cases of intolerance to rising cases of communal violence kick-started the heated interview. The Kashmir issue came up too in the 45-minute long interview. Almost 20 minutes into the show, Hasan asked Madhav about the Modi government’s Pakistan policy and the unrest in Kashmir. Madhav said that there have been National Security Advisor level talks and even the leaders of the two nations have spoken. As a relentless Hasan insisted that Madhav answer the question that how the Modi government proposes to solve the Kashmir issue which has been going on for ‘60-70’ years, the BJP leader said, “Why are you worried, we’re settling it.” To which Hasan said, “We’re worried because the rest of the world cannot risk a nuclear war because you two countries can’t settle it.” To which Madhav replied, “You worry about many more things that are happening. Your ISIS can catch hold of nuclear weapons.” Madhav, also said that RSS believes that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh will one day reunite again not by war but through “popular goodwill”, comments that were made public on the night Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Lahore for a meeting with Nawaz Sharif. “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) still believes that one day these parts, which have for historical reasons separated only 60 years ago, will again, through popular goodwill, come together and Akhand Bharat will be created. As an RSS member, I also hold on to that view,” the BJP general secretary said. He, however, clarified, saying, “That does not mean we wage war on any country…we annex any country. Without war, through popular consent, it can happen.”