The political upheaval in India caused by the remark made by a member of India’s main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — who said that all who oppose Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, should leave India and seek refuge in Pakistan — is understandable. But much of the chagrin is missing the point. The issue is not about the rather implausible scenario of an exodus of Indians across the border (for there are many who do not endorse Modi’s ambitions), as is being suggested by outraged political parties. That would be a facetious argument. The issue is that BJP has, yet again, revealed its true ideology. The remark is clearly targeting one particular community of India — the Muslims — and in doing so, portraying them as anti-national for their lack of support to Modi. Flagrantly divisive in intent, the remark is symptomatic of the malaise the BJP is trying so hard to be seen as being cured of in the penultimate stage of elections — its lack of secular intent. While BJP’s top cadre has denounced the remark in a bid to procure themselves a veneer of non-partisanship — a strategy that is indispensable at this crucial juncture of vote gathering — this move seems out of tune with the party’s basic instincts which are, clearly, resistant to change. As it attempts to wrest a hands-down victory, the BJP will do well to remember the fundamental law governing election campaigns — the heat and dust generated during these times tend to expose, rather than obscure, the genetic flaws of a political party.