Author: A.R.Kanangi
Publication: Afternoon Despatch
& Courier
Date: June 19, 2004
URL: http://www.cybernoon.com/Displayarticle.asp?child=roundup§ion=fromthepress&subsection=editorials&xfile=june2004_roundup_standard54
Introduction: Top BJP leaders want
to make Narendra Modi a 'bakra', a scapegoat. By trying to make out 'Gujarat'
is responsible for the poll defeat, they are only barking up the wrong
tree.
They are all pointing the accused
fingers at him. It is convenient to do so. Andhra's Chandrababu Naidu is
blaming him for the defeat of his party - Telugu Desam. Mamata Banerjee
of the Trinamool Congress is also holding him responsible for the defeat
of her party in West Bengal. And finally, Atal Behari Vajpayee who is said
to be doing some introspection at Manali, has categorically stated that
the riots in Gujarat and Narendra Modi's failure to stop the killings has
resulted in the defeat of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
It is clear: they are all looking
for a 'bakra' a scapegoat.
The rural folk in Andhra may not
even know there is a state called Gujarat.
To suggest that the happenings two
years ago in distant Gujarat resulted in the defeat of Telugu Desam is
most unconvincing.
Chandrababu Naidu
The BJP never had any appreciable
presence in Andhra. Filmstar N.T. Rama Rao founded the Telugu Desam Party
(TDP) and ended the rule of the Congress in the state. Son-in-law Chandrababu
Naidu came to power after his death and he gave solid support to the BJP
at the centre. His party was a pillar of strength for the BJP.
That pillar collapsed when the Lok
Sabha poll was held.
Mr. Naidu made the mistake of dissolving
government and asking for fresh elections after he escaped with minor injuries
in an attack by Naxalites. He was hoping that the sympathy factor would
work in his favour. The EC, however, did not hold the elections immediately
but decided to have them along with the Lok Sabha poll. There was a delay
and the sympathy factor went down slowly.
There was another man - Y.S. Rajashekar
Reddy - who undertook padayatra, went all over the rural areas and established
a rapport with the people there. Farmers, mostly landless peasants, were
committing suicide and he told them he would come to their aid.
It was this man who went on a padayatra
and won the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections - for the Congress. It was
not the Congress Party, it was not Sonia Gandhi who got the votes, but
it was Reddy who did.
And Chandrababu Naidu was dead against
the creation of a separate Telangana. And he lost Telangana to the TRS.
Where does Narendra Modi come into
the picture?
Count the number and see how many
seats the NDA lost in Andhra Pradesh.
And Mamata Banerjee lost not because
of Narendra Modi and Gujarat, but because she just has not been able to
put up any opposition to the Left parties in West Bengal.
That Atal Behari Vajpayee also is
of the view that Narendra Modi was responsible for the BJP defeat is most
surprising.
Immediately after the riots, when
elections were held in Gujarat, the BJP was returned with a big majority
in the assembly elections. The bloody riots following the gruesome burning
of 57 Hindus in Godhra and the subsequent killing of innocent Muslims,
apparently did not influence the electorate against Modi. They gave a clean
chit to him.
And then in the assembly elections
in five northern states - including the larger states of Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh - the BJP had landslide victory. What happened in Gujarat
- a state not too far away - had no effect on the voting pattern in these
states.
Many in our country feel that Gujarat
riots were inevitable, an expected happening after the Godhra massacre.
It is horrible, but it is the done thing. Those who committed the Godhra
crime alone should have been punished but hundreds of innocent Muslims
were wrongly killed.
When a chappal is tied round an
Ambedkar statue, his followers go on a violent spree.
When a bit of the carcass of a cow
is thrown inside a temple, riots break out.
When Indira Gandhi was killed, Congressmen
led by their leaders killed or injured 5,000 innocent Sikhs in Delhi. In
comparison with this terrible incident, what happened in Gujarat pales
into insignificance. Narendra Modi did not lead the mobs but the Congress
leaders in Delhi did.
It is the done thing and it is terrible
that people think the reaction is natural.
We have to change this mindset and
not blame persons like Narendra Modi.
At the slightest provocation, communal
incidents take place and innocent people who have nothing to do with the
original crime are cut to bits.
The BJP has not been defeated in
the elections. In fact, the party has done well in quite a few states.
The Congress claim that the people have given it a mandate to rule is baseless.
The party has done well in Gujarat
too. It has not swept the polls, but quite a few candidates have won in
the Lok Sabha elections.
It is the unexpected developments
in the regional scenario that has caused the party a setback.
The party was hit mainly in Andhra
and Tamil Nadu.
Count the number of seats which
have gone to opponents of BJP. If Chandrababu Naidu and Jayalalitha had
fared well, the NDA would be in government today. Little did the BJP realise
that the popularity of Ms. Jayalalitha was steadily fading away in the
state. The biggest mistake she made was to put the back of thousands of
government servants up. She broke a strike and that finished her. A government
servant in a village is a very influential person. These men must have
had a big role in leading the voters away from Jayalalitha's AIADMK. And
then she antagonised folks in 'The Hindu' newspaper - a paper which goes
to every village in Tamil Nadu.
Count the numbers and you will see
how the NDA could not make it.
It definitely had nothing to do
with the riots in Gujarat.
Why then are the BJP leaders now
trying to make out Gujarat and Narendra Modi led to their failure?
In the forefront of the assault
on Narendra Modi is the tallest leader of the party - Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.
It looks like he has made up his
mind to fix the blame for the poll defeat on Narendra Modi.
The leader is hurt.
Atal Behari Vajpayee
His ego has been hurt badly. He
thought he would get back to power easily. That has not happened.
Now the big chief waits to act.
The big chief says Modi is a bad man, he must go.
The Mumbai meet of the BJP is crucial.
It has to decide whether Narendra Modi is really a liability or he should
go. Will the party folks rally round Vajpayee and let him lead them? The
Sangh Parivar is totally opposed to the stand taken by Mr. Vajpayee. The
RSS has already stated that Mr. Narendra Modi must remain. The Vishwa Hindu
Parishad is also backing him.
But in Gujarat, there are some ambitious
BJP men who want to oust Narendra Modi and take over. Some of them have
already expressed their view openly. Mr. Vajpayee's recent statement will
encourage them again and make them mount the attack again.
Mr. Vajpayee is not a spent force.
He is not yet ready to retire. He
wants to be in the thick of politics. He has already thrown the gauntlet.
What will the party do now?
Can it do without him?
Mr. Vajpayee has held out a veiled
threat that unless his line is towed by the party, he will go out of the
party. If he takes a strong stand against Narendra Modi and wants him to
be sacked, the party perhaps will have no go, but to do just that. This
will be decided at the party meet in Mumbai next week.
It is clear what some of the top
leaders of the BJP want to do: they would like to make Narendra Modi the
ultimate 'bakra - a scapegoat!
