HVK Archives: The new saffron hope
The new saffron hope - The Observer
Dina Nath Mishra
()
May 7, 1998
Title: The new saffron hope
Author: Dina Nath Mishra
Publication: The Observer
Date: May 7, 1998
BJP national council (NC) session at Gandhi Nagar this week was
an exercise in conserving its distinct organisational character
as well as enlarging its constituency in terms of geographical
regions and communities hitherto untouched or uninfluenced. The
timing of the was important for three reasons. First, the
outgoing president L K Advani was handing over charge to
Kushabhau Thakre. Secondly, it was the first session of NC just
six weeks after the arrival of Vajpayee-led government at the
Centre. Thirdly, scores of challenges staring at the face of the
government and the party were crying for urgent attention of the
leadership. Those who followed the deliberations at Gandhi Nagar
conclave have noted the eagerness on the part of the leadership
to preserve its unique character which, In common parlance, is
described as a "Party with a difference".
One particular observation of Advani In the working committee was
noteworthy. He said. "Thakreji knows that a party in proper
shape can produce a government: but governments cannot produce
parties. A thorough organisational man, Thakreji, I am sure, will
navigate us in the crucial years ahead by his own illustrious
example of austerity and simplicity."
During the last five decades, the country has seen a continuous
decline of organisational wings in relation to its parliamentary
wings in various political parties. The Congress, which inherited
power from the British, had very a sturdy organisation throughout
the freedom struggle. Even after attaining power, ministers were
accountable to the party. During AICC sessions, they had to
listen to criticism. The dictates of the party had to be obeyed.
AICC resolutions had a lot of relevance. But, by and by, the
organisational wing lost a lot of its clout. During Indira
Gandhi's period, the organisation was relegated to the status of
what people called a private limited company owned by the
dynasty. The cut-off date was the Congress split of 1989, when
dozens of organisational stalwarts like Kamrai, Morarji Desai, S
K Patil, Nijalingappa, Virendra Patil, Hitendra Desai and many
more separated themselves and significantly called their party
Congress (O), i e standing for organisation. The split was,
in fact, a farewell to the "organisation" by Congress.
For decades, nomination culture prevailed in the Congress.
Gradually, It became the party of sycophants. It continued to be
so during Rajiv period. By the end of the 1980s, it was
impossible to run the organisation without amalgamating the power
of head of the organisation with head of its parliamentary wing.
That is why Narasimha Rao had to be Prime Minister as well as the
party chief. This continues even today. Barring CPM and CPI, no
other non BJP central party cares for the organisational wing.
As far as BJP is concerned, its uniqueness lies in its
organisational skills, Historically speaking, the uniquely-placed
party of 150 million members, the largest in the country was at a
critical juncture at Gandhi Nagar. Its leadership was alert
enough. In his address Advani said: et me sound a word of
caution. Experience all over the world has shown that power
corrupts even the most committed and well-organised parties. We
have seen what has happened to political parties in our country,
including the once-great Congress party. A party that lets itself
be overwhelmed by the trappings of power inevitably loses its
direction and sense of purpose. Such a party cannot remain
cohesive for long.
The BJP is so far largely immune to this problem. But we cannot
be complacent. It is necessary to constantly remind ourselves
that ideology and idealism cannot be separated. Without high
idealism, ideology is hollow. And without sound ideology,
idealism is a non-starter. This combination of a sound ideology
and high idealism, which is the very birthmark of the Bharatiya
Jana Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party, is something that we
must consciously exert to preserve m the BJP of the coming years
and decades. This alone can erase the image of the gly Indian
politician which is prevalent among the common people".
In his presidential address, Thakre too address this problem and
said "for us power has never meant an end by itself, we have
always viewed power as the means to and end. And that end is the
welfare of the people. Our government is committed to this goal.
Power, if exercised justly for the welfare of the people, can be
an ennobling experience. Power used for furthering individual
interests is a corrupting influence. We should beware of that. We
must remember that our journey, which in a sense began in 1951
with the formation of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, is by no means
over now that we are in power. We have no doubt come far, but we
have to go farther. And we can do that only if the party
organisation becomes stronger and our workers remain steadfast
stronger and our workers remain steadfast to their commitment.
For us in the BJP, politics bereft of an ethical and moral base
can at best serve the interest of individuals, definitely not of
the nation. Hence our emphasis on strengthening the ethical base
of politics because for us it is a noble mission. Let us
rededicate ourselves to this noble mission and strengthen our
resolve to fight the degeneration of politics at the hands of
politicians who put themselves above the nation=94.
It was more than clear that BJP leadership is determined to see
that BJP does not become another Congress. In his concluding
address, Vajpayee too spoke about it and the party's commitment
to the people with the similar determination. There was a
realisation at Gandhi Nagar that it was not the BJP government at
the Centre, but BJP-led government and hence the limitations. The
government is implementing the ational Agenda and not the BJP
election manifesto. ational Agenda draws most of the
programmes from BJP manifesto, but not all. Numerical limitations
led to ideological limitations. But at Gandhi Nagar, BJP leaders
made it plain that they are committed to ideology as a whole and
would try to expand the party's base in the coming years to the
regions and sections of society which are not in the BJP orbit of
influence.
The BJP-led government at the Centre is a coalition government
which calls for a different psychological build-up the part of
BJP leaders and workers. A coalition can only run successfully if
there is a mutual trust among the partners of the government.
The trust has to be built. No single party can do it alone. But
being the all-India Central pole, BJP has greater responsibility
to evolve a coalition grammar so that minimum friction is there
in the functioning of the government as well as in the
organisational exercises. Instead of being just a formal session,
it became a landmark in BJP's history because the entire
leadership of BJP was sensitive to the imperatives of the future.
Back
Top
|
