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HVK Archives: It is true that the BJP and the Congress have something more in common than, say, the BJP and the Janata Dal - Kewal Ratan Malkani

It is true that the BJP and the Congress have something more in common than, say, the BJP and the Janata Dal - Kewal Ratan Malkani - The Sunday Observer

Shivani Singh ()
13-19 April 1997

Title : 'It is true that the BJP and the Congress have something more in
common than, say, the BJP and the Janata Dal' - Interview of the week -
Kewal Ratan Malkani
Author : Shivani Singh
Publication : The Sunday Observer
Date : April 13-19, 1997

Kewal Ratan Malkani, a member of the Rajya Sabha and a vice-president of
the Bharatiya Janata Party, is part of the four-member think-tank - the
other three being Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, K N Govindacharya, and Jay
Dubashi - which formulates the party's policies.

Malkani taught economics for a while in Sind University. After
Partition, he moved to Delhi and joined The Hindustan Times. In less
than a year, he moved to Organiser, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
mouthpiece which he edited for 35 years. Since 1983, he has been
vice-chairman of the Deen Dayal Research Institute.

Though he had been with the Sangh Parivar for almost 40 years by then,
Malkani Plunged into active politics only in 1984 when he was nominated
to the Rajya Sabha. But his low Profile does not reflect his importance
within the party hierarchy. The former spokesman, who is considered a
hardliner and is a close associate of party president and fellow Sindhi
Lal Kishinchand Advani, spoke his mind on the instability facing the
country in an interview with SHIVANI SINGH before Friday's drama
unfolded. Excerpts.

How does the Bharatiya Janata Party perceive the fortnight-long
political drama after the Congress withdrew support to the United Front
government?

The arrangement broke down because it was basically unstable. The
support that the so-called United Front government got was peripheral.
For some mysterious reasons, P V Narasimha Rao decided to extend support
to the United Front without consulting the Congress Parliamentary Party.
My information is that he did not consult them because he was well
aware that two-thirds of the Congress MPs from the Lok Sabha were
opposed to giving support to the UP.

Any new arrangement that these parties work out will not be a stable
one. The Congress believes in monopolizing power. A 50-50 arrangement
will keep both sides unhappy.

Did the BJP foresee this crisis?

As I said, the arrangement was unstable from day one. We knew it would
be in trouble anytime. Actually, it is a bit of a surprise that the
crisis took nine months to precipitate.

What did the BJP lose or gain in this game?

It was not our game. It was their game. The BJP does not view it in
terms of losses or gains. We do what is in the interests of the country
and its people.

Why didn't you put forward a concrete proposal before the president that
the BJP would form the government by virtue of being the single largest
party at the Centre?

What purpose would that have served? Let me ask, is there anything in
the BJP election manifesto to which anybody can object? To work out a
common minimum programme, there has to be a general inclination and
agreement to come together. But, for some mysterious reason, that did
not materialize for us.

But our strength is increasing. We started with three allies and now we
have five. We may have some more. I think this is concrete enough. We
have gained the support of 40 MPs from these five parties. This may
attract some regional parties to join us.

So will you lay claim to form the government if the opportunity arises?
No, only elections can decide which party has to be on top. It is all
upto the people.

When the Congress withdrew support, BJP president L K Advani was quick
to say that mid-term polls were the only solution. Later, it was
reported that the BJP would abstain from the vote of confidence. Was
there some second thought? Or was there pressure within the party
against a snap poll?

There was no second thought and there was no pressure. [But] we did not
want [the Deve Gowda government] to be succeeded by a Congress
government.

George Fernandes, who is leader of the Samata Party, an ally of yours,
had made efforts for a BJP-Congress alliance. Did this move enjoy your
approval?

Obviously not! George is the leader of a different party. He is not a
BJP leader. He has every right to think independently. He thought it was
a good idea. We did not think so. He understood our point of view. So
the matter was not pursued.

But this is not the first time such a proposal has been made. The late
RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras had also talked of such an alliance.

That was in the mid-80s when we had only two members in the Lok Sabha.
But it would be true enough to say that among political parties, the BJP
and the Congress have something more in common than, say, the BJP and
the Janata Dal, or the BJP and the Communists. I am not considering
regional parties. I think he must have thought that both the BJP and
the Congress are all-India parties and there could be co-operation on
certain issues.

There have been such occasions earlier also. In 1950, Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel came up with this idea. At that time, neither the BJP existed nor
the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. But Patel wanted to invite the RSS people to
join the Congress. But Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru sabotaged that move. So
from time to time such thinking has existed.

Another ally of yours, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Surjit Singh Barnala,
spoke of supporting the United Front. Your comments.

It was his personal view. Normally, they go along with the BJP on such
issues. Barnala probably thought the Akali Dal, being a regional party,
should support the United Front as other regional parties were doing so.

But don't these moves reflect the differences that exist between the BJP
and its allies?

No, I wouldn't say that. The Akali Dal as a party has to sort out what
they must do on this issue. Subsequently, a statement was issued by
party president Prakash Singh Badal that the is complete understanding
between the Akali Dal ant the BJP and that we will vote together on this
issue.

A BJP member from Madhya Pradesh, Vikram Verma, had come UP with a
proposal that to counter the United Front, the BJP should come up with a
national front. Atal Behari Vajpayee had also suggested this. How
concrete is this plan?

This is a suggestion to our working committee. We already have a working
alliance with five parties, each having a strong regional base. This
could be taken as a United Democratic Front and given more concrete
shape.

Shankersinh Waghela won a thumping victory In the bye-election in
Gujarat this week. Isn't that a threat to the BJP"

I would not like to talk about that man.

But doesn't the BJP feel threatened in Gujarat?

Mosquitoes cannot be a threat to an elephant. The constituency of
Radhanpur [from where Waghela contested and won] has 150 villages. And
I was informed by [Gujarat BJP leader] Narendra Modi that 37 villages
were controlled by Waghela's goondas and no BJP worker was allowed into
these villages. Secondly, last time when a big tidal wave [meaning,
Waghela wave] was sweeping Gujarat, we won 53,000 votes in this
constituency. This time we got 44,000 votes. Had there been no
booth-capturing, we would have won the seat.

I must say that in Gujarat, the BJP is not confronting Waghela. He is
backed by the anti-social elements and they are both backed by the
central government. They think that any means are good enough to keep
the BJP out of power. They are not thinking in national terms. And they
are making a grave mistake. And I am sorry to see the Government of
India in their company.

Advani has been proved innocent In the Rs 65 crore havala case. What
difference will it make to the party's position in national politics?

We will work with greater buoyancy. This is a great confidence booster
and will help us take better and more assertive stands.

Killings In Uttar Pradesh have only increased since the Mayawati
government, backed by the BJP, came to power. When such Incidents were
taking place under the governor's rule, your party was quick to label it
as anarchy. How is the situation different now?

Criminals had a free run of UP under the patronage of Mulayam Singh
Yadav and his friends. It takes time to curb these criminal activities.

Transfer of officials on caste basis is being carried out on a large
scale by the Mayawati government. The BJP has always been dead against
this trend. How do you justify it now?

The BJP does not justify these activities. It is most unfortunate.
Appointments and transfers should be on merit and not on caste and group
considerations.


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