ISIS-like opinions converging with extreme-left ideology, warns Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday stated that while elements like the ISIS are not too prominent in India as compared to other countries, a portion of their ideology is now converging with certain extreme-left ideas, and also cautioned that Sufism is being replaced by 'Wahabism' in the Kashmir Valley.

"The demand of political autonomy is rising as an Islamist movement. You can see the signs throughout India. I feel India is fortunate that elements like ISIS are few as compared to other countries. However, the opinions arising from them and ultra-left opinions are converging in some sectors," said Jaitley while addressing a National Seminar on Integral Humanism-Indian Way of Attaining Sustainable Development Program here.

"The incident that recently took place in Jawaharlal Nehru University is a testament to this convergence. Those who took the forefront in supporting this are cheerleaders of this convergence," he added.

While the effect of Communism had a strong influence in states like West Bengal and Kerala in particular, the recent past, Jaitley said it has seen the effect drowning out, even in these states.

"The ideology of these was to flag the problems of the common man, which later turned into a necessity among others. Traditional political brands like the left and right are gradually fading out. Electoral relevance is also declining, as we have seen post the breakup of the Soviet Union and abandonment of state-controlled economy by China. Even in states like West Bengal and Kerala, the presence of the ideology is being washed away, and slowly the support for us (BJP) is going up in numbers," said Jaitley.

While the Congress was seen at a central position earlier, Jaitley observed that this position is being abandoned by them, which has given the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) an opportunity to capitalize on the Centre stage.

However, assuming such a role, Jaitley stated, involves more responsibility to be shouldered by the Ministers at the Centre, since any statements made by them need to be delivered bearing their political position in mind.