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Journalism of Courage
The perceived battle between vikas purush and loha purush has provided a golden opportunity to Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, the self-styled vigyan purush, to step in, both to settle old scores and prepare ground for new ones.
At Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, Joshi took the lead in assuring Atal Behari Vajpayee that he alone was the leader of the party, government and nation. He followed that up today by asserting that it was wrong to describe the PM as a vikas purush and that the appellation had not been sanctioned by the BJP at any stage.
In a statement, aimed as much to establish his loyalty to Vajpayee as to attack BJP chief Venkaiah Naidu, Joshi told NDTV 24×7, ‘‘I don’t think the executive committee of the party or policy making body of the party has ever decided that he (Vajpayee) is vikas purush. I think it’s the personal perception of Naidu about Vajpayee.’’
Making it clear that he did not agree with this perception, Joshi further said, ‘‘Vajpayee is not only vikas purush, he is our leader… He represents the sum total personality of BJP and also of NDA. So to limit him to a small segment of political and economic development was never discussed in the party.’’
Joshi’s spate of words in defence of Vajpayee, sources said, was part of a larger game plan and reflected the dramatic change in equations that are taking place in the BJP, in wake of Naidu’s infamous comment that both Advani and Vajpayee would lead the party in the next elections.
It is no secret that Joshi has been sulking in the sidelines for quite some time now and never reconciled himself to the anointment of Advani as Vajpayee’s successor. Joshi, who was once regarded as part of the party’s apex triumvirate, also harbours a deep grudge against Advani and his men in the party, sources said.
The animosity dates back to the early 1990s when Joshi was denied a second term as BJP president. He blamed Advani, who both preceded and succeeded him to the the top post, for the decision. More than Advani himself, Joshi was particularly miffed by ‘‘Advani’s boys’’ — among them Pramod Mahajan, Govindacharya and Venkaiah Naidu — for not cooperating with him during his term as party chief.
Those animosities may not have spilled into the open but they did not die either. Joshi, who backed Jana Krishnamurthy as BJP chief, was against the elevation of Naidu, regarded as an Advani loyalist, to the post, sources said.
He has now got the chance to get back at Naidu, and indirectly at Advani, and is making full use of it. Joshi has always enjoyed a cordial relationship with Vajpayee and fully accepted his leadership.
But it was not quite the same with Advani who is regarded more as a rival than an ‘‘undisputed’’ leader. The way in which Joshi today openly sought to cut Naidu to size indicates that despite the ‘‘truce’’ established on Thursday, the matter is far from closed.
Even if Vajpayee and Advani, given their long record of partnership, put the episode behind them, loyalists on both sides are likely to pursue the Iron Man vs Development Man battle further in the coming days, leading to a reopening of old enmities and repositioning of new alignments, it is felt.
