After decades of being an afterthought, the Jansangh (which was a gift to the nation by Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee) transformed itself into the BJP and became a political alternative to a corrupt, misguided and misruled Congress (except for the brief period when PV Narsimha Rao was the PM). They went from two MPs to a ruling party. The vacuum in the ranks of a suddenly expanded party was filled in by politicians with no allegiance to the Jansangh ideology. They were in it for power and money. Some old time RSS workers succumbed to the lure of power and money. Case in point is BS Yeddyurappa. Since then, the BJP lost its way. They were the party with a difference. The Honest Hindu Nationalists! I guess the combination of personal human frailties and demands for money to be a national party was too much of a burden for the BJP.
Now the BJP looks like they are trying to get back into power by taking shortcuts. They have done things that would make old time Jansanghis wince. As Mr. TVR Shenoy asks:
Was it necessary to form a coalition with the Janata Dal-Secular?
Was it necessary to broker compromise after compromise to keep the wealthy Bellary Brothers happy?
Was it necessary to give B S Yeddyurappa the same long rope?
Finally, was it necessary to rush to embrace Janardhana Reddy after the CBI arrested him (along with B V Srinivas Reddy) for illegal mining operations?
Another thing he does not ask is
Was it necessary to support Shibu Soren (knowing his background) in Jharkhand ?
When the BJP came to power the first time around, there was optimism in the middle class of actually having a genuine alternative. Even though they were not elected with a huge margin, yet it was significant that the middle class had ignored the pseudo-secular parties and voted for someone with RSS support (despite of a total demonization of the RSS by the Congress). But the BJP lost its way and now has been reduced to being lesser of the two evils rather than a party of difference.
They are at crossroads right now. The country is hurting for a party of difference. The BJP can atone for its sins in Karnataka and shed the corrupt leaders in its ranks. They need to energize their grassroots level workers. They should not shy away from asking the RSS for help. They need to sideline leaders like Arun Jaitley who are nothing but good looking spokespersons and have never won Loksabha elections. They need to showcase the leaders who are actual performers in the party like Narendra Modi, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Raman Singh. They need to widen the support base of the party and strive towards increasing their vote percent. If it takes time then so be it. If they take short cuts like fielding DP Yadav from Western UP to counter the SP thugs then they are no better than any other party.
We have seen from the history of our country that the pseudo-seculars and the liberals have no ideology or a vision for the country (at least not one where India of tomorrow has roots in India of yesterday). They are short on everything including morality. On the other hand, we have seen from examples in other democracies than religious nationalists have to carry a bigger cross and cannot make compromises on ideology. The onus of being the honest and moral party is on the BJP. They need to come through on that. As corrupt and immoral as Congress is, they can always harp on history and get the voters attention. BJP cannot claim that (mostly because even the conservative freedom fighters fought under the same umbrella as the rest of the Congress). So my appeal to the BJP supporters is that they should not demand any less from the party they support. The BJP have a responsibility to the party and their supporters but a bigger responsibility to the nation. This is what they do not realize.
How the CBI has helped the BJP
T V R Shenoy.
Consider how the Congress responded when skeletons have come tumbling out in the past year.The Commonwealth Games [ Images ] Scandal? "What is the BJP doing in Karnataka?" The Adarsh Housing Scandal? "What is the BJP doing in Karnataka?"
The 2G Telecom Scandal? "What is the BJP doing in Karnataka?"
And now, with its almost frenzied backing for Janardhana Reddy, the Congress doesn't even bother saying that because the BJP seems bent on doing all its work!
The article can be read at:http://www.rediff.com/news/column/-how-the-cbi-has-helped-the-bjp/20110909.htm
Now the BJP looks like they are trying to get back into power by taking shortcuts. They have done things that would make old time Jansanghis wince. As Mr. TVR Shenoy asks:
Was it necessary to form a coalition with the Janata Dal-Secular?
Was it necessary to broker compromise after compromise to keep the wealthy Bellary Brothers happy?
Was it necessary to give B S Yeddyurappa the same long rope?
Finally, was it necessary to rush to embrace Janardhana Reddy after the CBI arrested him (along with B V Srinivas Reddy) for illegal mining operations?
Another thing he does not ask is
Was it necessary to support Shibu Soren (knowing his background) in Jharkhand ?
When the BJP came to power the first time around, there was optimism in the middle class of actually having a genuine alternative. Even though they were not elected with a huge margin, yet it was significant that the middle class had ignored the pseudo-secular parties and voted for someone with RSS support (despite of a total demonization of the RSS by the Congress). But the BJP lost its way and now has been reduced to being lesser of the two evils rather than a party of difference.
They are at crossroads right now. The country is hurting for a party of difference. The BJP can atone for its sins in Karnataka and shed the corrupt leaders in its ranks. They need to energize their grassroots level workers. They should not shy away from asking the RSS for help. They need to sideline leaders like Arun Jaitley who are nothing but good looking spokespersons and have never won Loksabha elections. They need to showcase the leaders who are actual performers in the party like Narendra Modi, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Raman Singh. They need to widen the support base of the party and strive towards increasing their vote percent. If it takes time then so be it. If they take short cuts like fielding DP Yadav from Western UP to counter the SP thugs then they are no better than any other party.
We have seen from the history of our country that the pseudo-seculars and the liberals have no ideology or a vision for the country (at least not one where India of tomorrow has roots in India of yesterday). They are short on everything including morality. On the other hand, we have seen from examples in other democracies than religious nationalists have to carry a bigger cross and cannot make compromises on ideology. The onus of being the honest and moral party is on the BJP. They need to come through on that. As corrupt and immoral as Congress is, they can always harp on history and get the voters attention. BJP cannot claim that (mostly because even the conservative freedom fighters fought under the same umbrella as the rest of the Congress). So my appeal to the BJP supporters is that they should not demand any less from the party they support. The BJP have a responsibility to the party and their supporters but a bigger responsibility to the nation. This is what they do not realize.
How the CBI has helped the BJP
T V R Shenoy.
Consider how the Congress responded when skeletons have come tumbling out in the past year.The Commonwealth Games [ Images ] Scandal? "What is the BJP doing in Karnataka?" The Adarsh Housing Scandal? "What is the BJP doing in Karnataka?"
The 2G Telecom Scandal? "What is the BJP doing in Karnataka?"
And now, with its almost frenzied backing for Janardhana Reddy, the Congress doesn't even bother saying that because the BJP seems bent on doing all its work!
The article can be read at:http://www.rediff.com/news/column/-how-the-cbi-has-helped-the-bjp/20110909.htm
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