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HVK Archives: Turning point in India's history

Turning point in India's history - BJP Today

Posted By Krishnakant Udavant (kkant@bom2.vsnl.net.in)
January 1-15, 1998

Title: Turning point in India's history
Author:
Publication: BJP Today
Date: January 1-15, 1998

The following Political Resolution was adopted by the BJP
National Executive in Bhubaneswar on December 20, 1997.

The National Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party views the
coming mid-term general election as an unique opportunity for the
people to elect a Government that is purposive, believes in
implementing people-oriented policies and is confident of
providing the nation with able leadership. The BJP Is the only
party which has the capacity to form such a Government headed by
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Let the Mandate of 1998 be a mandate for a stable Government and
an able Prime Minister, both of which the BJP alone can ensure.
In sharp contrast, our adversaries are neither in a position to
ensure stability nor offer an able prime ministerial candidate.
Indeed, both the Congress and the UF have desisted from naming
anybody as their choice for the Prime Minister's office. Although
they have many a claimant, none of them is equal to the job.

The political instability of this past year-and-a-half, the
politics of manipulation. opportunism and blackmail Indulged in
by the United Front and the Congress, the Government's total
abdication of all responsibility to the people, the pursuit of an
economic agenda that has caused widespread distress and the
callous disregard for the aspirations of the masses has no doubt
resulted in cynicism. This cynicism has been compounded by the
grossly irresponsible manner in which the UF and the Congress
behaved in the last days of the Gujral Government, forcing the
dissolution of the 11th Lok Sabha and saddling the country with a
mid-term general election, as had been predicted by the BJP. The
common man, already burdened by runaway back-breaking prices, is
now being made to foot the bill for the political misadventure of
the UF and the Congress that began in June 1996 and the over-
vaulting ambition of small men lusting for the loaves and fishes
of high office.

The BJP National Executive appeals to the people not to allow
cynicism to overshadow the need to protect democracy from further
damage. The correct response to the destabilising politics of the
Congress and the UF would be for the people to vote
overwhelmingly against both of them and thus punish these
wreckers of democracy.

After wilfully forcing the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in less
than two years of it being elected, the Congress and the UF are
now busy blaming each other. After displaying utter contempt for
the need to provide stable governance, each is now claiming to be
the sole repository of stability. After losing all moral ground
with their self-serving compact collapsing like a house of cards,
they are still trying to strike moral postures of self-righteous
indignation.

All this could have been avoided and India could have had a
stable Government if only the UF and the Congress had not forged
their post-election unholy. farce of an alliance to stop the BJP
>from assuming power. The mandate of 1996, though fractured, was a
clear verdict against the Congress and the Janata Dal, the main
constituent of the UF. At the same time, the mandate was an
endorsement of the BJP which had secured the largest number of
seats. But the defeated chose to position themselves as rulers
under the garb of protecting "secularism' and "federalism=94, two
political concepts that have suffered the greatest abuse at the
hands of their self-appointed champions.

The Left has played the most diabolical role in this past year-
and-a-half. The Marxists, like proverbial snakes in the grass,
were neither friends of their allies in the UF nor foes of the
Congress, even while pretending to be both. Notwithstanding its
hollow sloganeering and slander campaign against the BJP. the
CPI(M) has proved that the old Marxist habits of doublespeak and
duplicitous politics die hard. In their pursuit of power without
accountability, for which they were willing to collaborate with
anybody and compromise on anything, the Marxists have
demonstrated their true character as political charlatans.

The political crisis that has forced this midterm poll is not
without implications. The Jain Commission's Interim report, which
was the ostensible reason for the Congress withdrawing its
support to the UF (in reality. it was a desperate gambit by the
Congress to manoeuvre itself into power) is cause for concern.
The assassination of a former Prime Minister is a very serious
matter and any inquiry committee should treat it with an equal
degree of seriousness. Justice M C Jain has made a series of
observations, inuendos and charges against individuals and
organisations. Unfortunately, some of his observations have been
in the nature of sweeping generalisations. It is singularly
unfortunate that he has indicted the entire Tamil community and
cast aspersions on the Sikhs. His unfounded remarks against
friendly neighbours were uncalled for. It should be the endeavour
of any future Government to assess Justice Jain's findings as a
piece of criminal Investigation and not for settling political
scores as was done by the Congress with the interim report.

The disastrous after-effects of the doomed-from-the-beginning
experiment called the United Front, in which the Congress was an
active participant, are there for all to see. The economy is in a
shambles and P. Chidambaram's ream budget' is giving everybody,
including big industry which had hailed it, frightening
nightmares. The nation is In the grip of an economic crisis.
Industrial growth is down from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. The
small scale industry has been the worst sufferer. Similarly,
growth of agriculture is down by more than four per cent from the
previous year's nearly 7 per cent. The lot of the farmers has
gone from bad to worse. The rupee has crashed to an all-time low
and there is a near collapse of the capital markets. Political
uncertainty has made investors at home and abroad nervous about
the Indian market and there is complete lack of confidence in
regard to future investments.

Rule of law has suffered enormously with the Constitution being
treated contemptuously by the UF Government. The poor and the
vulnerable, especially the Dalits and the tribals, have suffered
the most under a dispensation that lacked both direction and
purpose. The latest carnage in Bihar, in which 61 poor villagers,
most of them Dalits, died, is symptomatic of the unaddressed
plight of the vulnerable sections of society. That the UF,
including the sanctimonious Left, has chosen to turn a blind eye
to the jungle raj in Laloo's Bihar, speaks volumes. The Congress,
of course, is eagerly awaiting an alliance with the RJD whose
leading lights are also the leading accused in the fodder scam.
To the UF goes the credit of successfully stalling inquiries into
many a financial scandal in order to appease its Congress masters
as well as try to save Laloo Prasad Yadav from certain conviction
in the fodder scam. Crucial files connected with these crimes
never moved out of Shri Inder Kumar Gujral's office.

National security continues to be compromised. The ISI's vicious
activities have spread to new geographical areas and are posing a
threat to national integrity. By seeking to pamper separatist in
Jammu and Kashmir, the Gujral Government has emboldened those who
have been waging war against the Indian state and given a fillip
to their murderous activities. While official kindness was
extended to terrorists in Kashmir, the displaced Pandits are yet
to be restored their home and hearth in the Valley. In the east,
infiltration continues unabated, further destabilising the
region's demography. Separatism in the North-East has shown no
sign of decline; on the contrary. insurgency has increased,
claiming a terrible toll of human lives. Both Shri Deve Gowda and
Shri Gujral announced a special economic package of Rs 6,100
crore for the North-East. But like all other promises, this too
has remained a pipedream.

The BJP expresses concern over pay disparities which have
affected morale in the forces. The service and the sacrifice of
our soldiers who have retired continue to be ignored. Both these
issues need to be addressed immediately and effectively.

Ironically, the collapse of the Congress-UF compact has coincided
with the collapse of the Congress and the Janata Dal in State
after State. In Manipur. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka the
Congress has broken into pieces or is on the verge of coming
apart. In Orissa, virtually the entire State Janata Dal has
broken free of the parent unit while in Bihar Laloo Prasad Yadav
has converted what was once the State Janata Dal into his own
family fiefdom.

On the other hand, thanks to the incremental support from our new
allies in Tamil Nadu and Orissa, in addition to that of our
existing friends, the BJP and its allies are the main contenders
in almost all constituencies. No other formation comes anywhere
near our invincible position.

This remarkable collapse of our principal adversaries, even while
opening up immense possibilities and opportunities for the BJP,
also adds to our responsibility. The National Executive realises
that an ever-increasing number of people are looking up to the
BJP with great expectations of stable governance, good governance
and able leadership. The National Executive is confident that the
BJP is the only party which will occupy the political space that
is being rapidly vacated by the other parties.

The 17 months of UF rule have been no different from the
preceding half decade of Congress rule. The name of the
Government changed, but its character remained the same. The
National Executive calls upon the people of India to vote against
the misgovemance of the UF and the political chicanery of the
Congress. Let the coming mid-term general election be a verdict
against the Congress and its clone, the UF: let it be a
resounding verdit for the BJP.

We believe that every political party has a role in history. The
moment has arrived for the BJP to play its destined role - to
provide leadership to a nation betrayed by pretenders; to provide
good governance that will set India on the track of prosperity
for all; to once again revive the spirit of optimism, opportunity
and oneness in this 50th year of our independence.

This is the turning point in post-independence India's history, a
point from where India will embark upon its journey into the next
millennium. Standing- at this point, we pledge to build, with
the people's support, a society free of fear and hunger and a
nation confident of facing internal and external security
challenges. We pledge to usher in an era of social harmony where
the weaker sections shall be able to live in peace and dignity,
where the honour of women shall be protected, where the youth
shall be active participants in the sacred task of nation-
building, where the genuine social and economic problems of the
minority communities shall be taken care of by a responsive and
responsible state.


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