The Merrier October 07, 2012 S
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Established 1946 Price : Rupees Five Vol. 67 No. 37 More the merrier October 07, 2012 S. Viswam So, India’s multi-party to a chance to govern India ( sub ko A conversation with BJP chief parliamentary democracy is to be parkha, ab hum ko parkho”). But Kuldip Nayar enriched with yet another political the BJP differed from the Congress party, tilting at the windmills of only in its ideological platform. The power. Post-independence, the BJP is an out-and-out communal The RTI and the Judiciary number of political parties has risen organisation, an offspring of the Bapu Heddurshetti steadily, and to no one’s surprise extreme right-wing RSS and has been the parties born after independence functioning as the political wing of have not succeeded in dislodging the the RSS whose bark is communally party that won India’s freedom from venomous as its bite. In all other A Ray of Hope its honourable pedestal. The Indian respects, it shares all the negative Sandeep Pandey National Congress still remains the traits of the Congress. Consequently, most widespread, truly Pan-Indian the BJP is now not a party with a and best organized cadre-based party, difference but only a different party although it is now being challenged and a party with internal differences Fail I alone in Words and Deeds! more intensely and determinedly than springing, as in the Congress, from D. K. Giri in the past. The Congress has had to open and subrosa struggles for power yield its monopoly on power at New and pelf. Delhi twice in the post-independence Is it economics versus politics? era. It is not at its prime strength and Some regional parties have K. S. Chalam cohesion right now, and no eyebrows performed exceedingly well, sailing will be raised in surprise if it has to their ships adroitly between the vacate the throne once again in 2014. stormy waters of the Congress and the BJP. Many of them have managed to Editor : The principal opposition party, the capture power in the states through the Bharatiya Janata Party, has gained in ballot box. The extreme Left too has G. G. Parikh political clout even though it began done well for itself. It once held sway Managing Editor : Guddi on a small scale and with limited over three states and even called the ambition. The failures of the Congress shots at the Centre by virtue of being D-15, Ganesh Prasad, on many fronts and in many states a supporter of the ruling coalition. Naushir Bharucha Marg, emboldened the BJP to challenge Its wings have been clipped in West Mumbai - 400 007. the Congress at the Centre in the Bengal, one of the three states it ruled seventies of the last century. At that for an inordinately long time, by yet Email : [email protected] time, the BJP claimed it was a “party another regional party, the Trinamool with a difference” and hence entitled Congress led by the stormy petrel of 2 JANATA, October 07, 2012 Indian politics Mamata Banerjee. Between the lines Into this maelstrom of the hotchpotch Indian politics, the A conversation with BJP chief erstwhile members of Team Anna and currently leading stalwarts of India Against Corruption plan to Kuldip Nayar make a grandstand entry by floating, of all things, a new political party A chance meeting with BJP the Akali Dal’s support and even which is to receive an official name chief Nitin Gadkari proved to be expected Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK and habitation a few weeks later. very productive. But it has left me to come to their side. “What, another party, as if there is confused. I found him saying more not enough of tomfoolery going on or less what the leftists uphold. I The BJP president had no already,” the cynical among us may wondered whether their ideological hesitation in admitting that his claim. “The more the merrier. Let us differences had got rubbed on him party would need to get the Muslim have some fun, yaar!,” some others and the BJP after their joint boycott of vote if it wanted to make the may say. It is premature, and also parliament and joint demonstrations majority. Turning towards me, somewhat imprudent to speculate over the past few months. he said: “You people have spread at this stage on how different a the impression that we are anti- party Arvind Kejriwal’s proposed Gadkari too talked about Muslim. The Hindutva does not formation will be. It may go the way overhauling the system, lifting mean hostility towards Islam. Our of all flesh and end up as yet another the living standards of the lower priority is nationalism.” I corrected letterhead party, or it may take wings half and criticising the successive him by saying the country should be and fly into the skies and beyond. governments since independence for the priority, instead of nationalism. not doing anything for the poor. At He said: “Yes, the country,” and Kejriwal’s proposed entity starts one stage, he said he was a leftist. elucidated that Hindutva meant a on a positive note in the sense that it Yet he made one thing clear lest he pluralistic society which took pride wishes to represent the aam aadmi thought he had given me a wrong in the spirit of accommodation and (personified in the Indian political impression. He is a cent percent RSS the sense of tolerance. lexicon as the ''vast middle classes''), pracharak and was proud to be so. “I fight against corruption, throw out wear kakhi knickers and I feel elated And then he singled out the the status quo parties and defeat the when I stand in a shaka,” he said. Congress party for all that had gone VIP system that breeds and sustains wrong with the country. “It is a party corruption. So far, so good. A point I felt confused on yet another of manipulators and conspirators in its favour is that its entry is being point. He admitted to the infighting and it was the Congress which had seen to be supported and hailed by taking place in his party. “They are divided the country into secular and the youth of the country who are already staking their claim to the non-secular parts.” The Congress expected to transfer their support to prime minister’s gaddi. I have told had done little for the Muslims either Anna Hazare to the new party. But them that I am not a candidate.” Yet in the field of education, health or the positives end here. he had no doubt that his party would employment. It has used them only lead the next coalition government as a vote bank, he reiterated. Kejriwal and his closest ally at the centre. Prashant Bhushan (their former “And see what is happening? colleague Kiran Bedi has wisely Gadkari assessed that the National They pick up some boys from among kept out of Arvind’s adventurism Democratic Alliance (NDA) would the Muslim youth and dub them as along with Anna himself) may find get 200 seats in the 526-member terrorists. Certain crimes are framed that running a political movement, or Lok Sabha. At present the NDA’s against them so that a particular to be more accurate a campaign, is strength is 114. “Once we cross the act of terrorism had ready-made child’s play compared to running a figure of 150, you would see how perpetrators. What choice do the the political parties rush to join the poor Muslims have?” The police (Continued on Page 3) NDA.” He was confident about has done the greatest harm to the JANATA, October 07, 2012 3 community by filing false cases by raising his voice which would Muslim fundamentalism and he against them, added Gadkari. have lessened the impact. A gleam was sorry to see Pakistan getting in his eyes was at times more contaminated by it. He was, however, vocal about one expressive than what he said in thing. “If ever India had a Muslim words. Those in the BJP should Gadkari does not like China. majority, it would be converted into know this. I congratulated him for Even during his visit to the country, an Islamic state. Islam does not getting another term as the BJP chief. he said, he was unhappy because “they think no end of themselves.” know secularism.” More or less, a “I pleaded with none. Nor did I stand He has been hurt by some anti- similar remark was made by the then in the queue to ask for the position. India remarks he had heard. “We Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee It has come to me without asking for can become friends of Pakistan, when I was a member of the Rajya or canvassing,” said Gadkari. Sabha. “India is secular because it but not China which has unlimited ambitions,” said Gadkari. These is a Hindu majority state. The day The BJP chief wanted best of were, more or less, the words which Muslims have a majority, they will relations with Pakistan. “I have Lal Bahadur Shastri had used when convert it into an Islamic stage. See told the Pakistanis that both of us he, as Home Minister, visited the the world over where the Muslims should live peacefully as neighbours forward areas after the India-China are in a majority.” and jointly fight against poverty. war in 1962. I was his press officer. They are wasting money on buying Only on Gujarat, did Gadkari weapons and so on. Imagine the I had to end my roving make some observations off the crop the two countries can reap if the conversation with the BJP chief record.