Finally, some return fire

If the BJP has long appeared a prisoner to the whims, fancies and often dangerous agendas of the various constituents of the Sangh Parivar, it has only itself to blame. Consider the irony here. A political party that had come to power through the electoral process and is accountable to the people was being held to ransom by a bunch of organisations that were accountable to no one but themselves. Since this lot did not have to reckon with public opinion, voting behaviour, the rule of law, the call of order, they could do anything, say anything, carry on with their dangerously divisive brand of politics, without let or hindrance. The only body that could have exercised some kind of a moderating influence on them 8212; the BJP 8212; had for reasons best known to itself remained silent. This silence was immediately, and quite rightly, construed as weakness, which only lent more stridency to the constant and unmitigated hectoring the party had to face from organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and, on occasion, the RSS.

The fact that the BJP leadership did not choose to respond was interpreted in a variety of ways, and all to the detriment of this party8217;s image. Certainly, the widespread speculation that there was a power struggle raging between the top leaders of the BJP could be attributed, at least in part, to this strange reluctance of party minders to come down hard on those who attacked party leaders, particularly the prime minister, from the wings. The latest instance of this kind was VHP Working President Ashok Singhal8217;s personal attack on Vajpayee, who he said had lost the trust of the Sangh Parivar. The reason for Singhal8217;s impatience is understandable given his anxiety to lead the country into the cul de sac of communal polarisation. But so insidious has this influence been, that even BJP MPs like B.P. Singhal thought nothing of jumping on to the bandwagon and doing their bit to create dissent from within the party. As a consequence, party discipline was at its nadir and prime ministerial authority almost completely eroded.

BJP Party President Venkaiah Naidu8217;s attempt to hit back was, in fact, a response that should have come much earlier. The delay has proved expensive in terms of the BJP8217;s credibility. But it8217;s better late than never, perhaps. There are three points that Naidu has raised which merit scrutiny. First, that the decisions attributed to the prime minister were actually the result of collective decision-making. Two, that the VHP8217;s politics, which smacks of the same intolerance as jehadi politics, has severely compromised the Centre8217;s battle against terrorism. Three, that such politics has also cast the country in a bad light in the eyes of the world. To expect the likes of the VHP to actually see the light would be delusional but at least the BJP has learnt an important lesson.