‘It is as if those who do not go to the EC will lose the Muslim vote’

An inflammatory CD was released at a press conference in Lucknow a few days ago. The BJP has disowned it since. The Election Commission has deferred a verdict. Who is responsible? Who must be held accountable?

First, the BJP has suo moto declared that the controversial CD was not distributed to workers, and that it wasn’t official. Someone distributed the unauthorised CD to journalists. We have pinpointed the responsibility — it was UP BJP spokesperson Manoj Mishra. We have removed him. At the official function, Lalji Tandon released the official CD titled ‘Jagruta Uttishtha’.

After we found out that journalists were given the unapproved CD, we realised the mistake, withdrew the unofficial CD, and said that Manoj Mishra acted unilaterally and we have removed him from the post. The BJP took these actions on its own — before the EC was seized of the matter, before the FIR was lodged. That shows our intention.

We explained this to the EC. The controversy should have died immediately.

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But then the politics of the pseudo-secularist parties started. V.P. Singh, Mayawati and Kapil Sibal lined up outside the EC, demanding that the BJP is derecognised. This is the politics of appeasement. It is as if those who do not go to the EC will lose the Muslim vote!

In fact, the other parties were disturbed because the BJP was concentrating on its main campaign themes that were drawing tremendous mass support. These include ‘jurm ka khatma’ or the freedom from fear and end of criminalisation; ‘mehengai ka khatma’ or the end of inflation; tough action against terrorism and separatism. That is, the party is focusing on issues of law and order, national security and inflation alongwith the developmental issues of bijli, sadak, paani, irrigation and education coupled with a focus on farmers who are for the first time committing suicide on the banks of the Ganga. As a diversionary tactic, other parties have raised the issue of the CD with the EC. They have also done so because of their frustration after the verdicts in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Delhi.

There is another point in this CD controversy: An FIR was registered against the party president. There have been cases even earlier of the violation of the code of conduct. But in every case, a notice was issued to the concerned person, not to the national president of the party.

Recently, Mulayam Singh Yadav was served a notice by the EC for indulging in casteist appeals. But there was no FIR. Sharad Pawar was served a notice for the violation of the code of conduct because he sanctioned the sugar package as a cabinet minister. There was no FIR.

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There was the case of abuse of state aircraft for the election campaign by Sonia Gandhi. The EC only served notice, there was no FIR. Lalu Prasad Yadav was caught distributing currency notes to voters — again only a notice was served. Rajiv Gandhi issued newspaper advertisements in 1984 referring to the Sikh community — they were the worst advertisements of the communal kind that India has seen — but no action was taken.

How did the CD make it to a BJP forum? In the state BJP, the cultural and IT cells are involved in creating campaign materials. Every time they prepare something, it must be cleared by the higher authorities. That is the usual procedure. But this CD was shown to nobody.

When the party takes a collective decision, it can be called the party’s ideology. The act of an individual is not an act of the party unless approved by others.

The writer is national spokesperson, BJP