HVK Archives: BJP's opportunity
BJP's opportunity - The Statesman
Editorial
()
20 April 1997
Title : BJP's opportunity
Author : Editorial
Publication : The Statesman
Date : April 20, 1997
So the Congress president who acted so precipitately on behalf of
Sonia Gandhi and was supported by other scamsters too numerous to
mention, has had to eat crow. He is no longer willing to offer
himself as leader of a Congress Government dedicated to improving
the party's image by the too clever by half device of withdrawing
all prosecutions so they can resume looting the nation, an
occupation from which they were so rudely interrupted by two
factors - the reluctance of Mr Deve Gowda to go beyond a certain
limit to help them and the determination of the courts to require
the government to do their duty. The two letters from Sitaram Kesri
to the President add up to a climbdown, the party is now formally
committed to supporting the United Front under a new leader,
leaving the Front the opportunity to rally round someone who is not
amenable to Sonia's wishes, trump the Congress ace and thus bring
this whole transparent and despicable manoeuvre to an end. The
question is, do the Front have the stomach to act firmly. Reports
have it that frontrunner Moopanar has fallen behind, which is good
news and encourages the hope that the lady of Janpath will not have
it gall her own way. It is not over yet. Having failed to stick
with Deve Gowda and given up an excellent opportunity to sideline
the Congress in national affairs, there is no knowing how much
further the United Front will travel in the wrong direction. There
is Indrajit Gupta's inexplicable behaviour in throwing a lifeline
to the Congress and Chidambaram is active on behalf of Moopanar,
that is, the Congress. But the stars are configured better now than
they were a few days ago.
The Congress president deserves to be taken to task for his
conspicuous discourtesy to the President. His second letter to the
head of state asks "Refer to my letter dated March 31." Did Mr
Kesri think he was writing to Tariq Anwar? Or does he feel that as
a former Congressman, the President is someone he can talk down to?
If he were writing to Sonia Gandhi he would probably enclose his
white cap as a mark of respect. Surely there are some manners left
in the party, if not in their leader!
In their anxiety to stick to office, and here the Congress
president has not been wrong, the Front have chosen to ignore
something that stares them in the face. Having connived at and
accepted the position that it is for the Congress to nominate their
leader, any new government born of such prostitution is equally at
risk. Rajiv Gandhi made an issue of two Haryana policemen, Sitaram
Kesri hurled absurd charges which no one was expected to believe;
the position now established is that the Congress needs no reason
at all. The Front's undeniable political savvy is lost in a mire
of greed and vulgarity and they will pay a heavy price for it.
They will be liquidated in the next election, closer in time then
they care to admit and the BJP are handed an advantage they can be
relied upon to exploit. They will have earned it.
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