NEW DELHI: The Modi government is worried that the crushing defeat for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar will spur splintered opposition parties to regroup in parliament and that their regained swagger could impact adversely on his close aides and party officials, analysts said on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been held accountable for several acts of omission and commission in fueling hatred between Hindus and Muslims in the run-up to the polls, a subject the opposition is spoiling to pounce on. His own party is in a quandary about the as-yet-unknown full impact of the shock defeat.

Adding to Mr Modi’s troubles is perceived rebellion from Hindutva ranks. Former BJP minister Arun Shourie has complained bitterly about the abusive language against his physically challenged son being hurled on the social media by people followed by the prime minister.

An indication of the growing worry within the ruling establishment came as the government reached out to the opposition to help pass key reform Bills and urged them to not interpret the Bihar poll result as a “mandate to disrupt Parliament”.

The government also announced the winter session will meet between Nov 26 and Dec 23.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh also took a decision to call a special two-day sitting of Parliament on the first two days of the session to commemorate the adoption of the Indian Constitution on November 26, 1949, and honour its architect, B.R. Ambedkar.

“CCPA met today and decided to call winter session from November 26, which will continue till December 23 depending on the exigencies of business,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after the meeting.

“All concerned need to understand the Bihar verdict in the right perspective. People of Bihar want development just like people in the other states. To realise rapid economic growth, we need to have the right environment in place, which requires considered reforms.

“To interpret Bihar verdict in any other manner only amounts to questioning the wisdom of the people of the State. All parties have to understand it and enable Parliament to pass the reform measures. Bihar verdict is a clear statement of people’s aspirations. It should not be interpreted as a mandate to obstruct Parliament,” Mr Naidu said.

Former union minister Arun Shourie has said that he has been the target of severe abuse online by BJP supporters ever since he turned a critic of Mr Modi. Mr Shourie, a one-time admirer of Mr Modi, also said that the BJP supporters did not even spare his son, who has cerebral palsy, reports said.

“If you gave me an opportunity to read the kind of abuse that has been hurled at me and my handicapped son, your viewers will be horrified,” Mr Shourie told NDTV, citing one such insensitive remark. “They wrote, ‘Iska mental son hai, woh aur bhi mental banega.’ These damned fools are followed by the PM on the social media,” he said.

A visibly upset Mr Shourie made the remarks during a discussion on the perception that the BJP’s election campaign in Bihar was negative and often divisive. “The result of this election has been that the direction the country was being hurled, which was division, which was abuse, has been blocked by the people of Bihar.”

Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, a senior BJP leader who was also present on the panel, condemned the online abuse, saying it was regrettable. “It really is very painful to know that there were certain kind of remarks on the social media,” Mr Sahasrabuddhe said, adding that PM Modi had warned against hate speech in his interactions with supporters on social media.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2015