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Journalism of Courage
Is the Samajwadi Party (SP) trying to Mend it like Beckham, as far as the sentiments of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh are concerned? If David Beckham, the international football star, went for a new haircut to save his image and marriage after the steamy revelations made by his alleged lover, Rebecca Loos, the SP has a tough time explaining its ‘relationship’ with the BJP.
The SP-BJP-Muslim triangle in the state is now beginning to unfold like the David Beckham-Rebecca Loos-Posh Spice kiss-and-tell story, with the BJP confessing to an alleged closeness, the SP in hot denial and the Muslim community demanding to be convinced there is no affair at all.
Allegations and rumours of a clandestine affair between the BJP and SP have been doing the rounds ever since Mulayam Yadav, was sworn in as chief minister five months ago. While the SP persistently ignored and denied allegations it was in power because of a tacit alliance with the BJP, the ‘‘affair’ came out in the open two months ago, when an emotional George Fernandes ‘‘revealed all’’ to a startled media.
Dying to tell his story to the world, the NDA Convenor blurted out, ‘‘Yadav is a personal and political friend,’’ he said warmly, ‘‘and I will always be thankful to him for stopping Congress President Sonia Gandhi from coming to power in 1999,’’ he gushed. Fernandes then dropped a bombshell, when he added, ‘‘The SP could even extend issue-based support to the NDA after the polls.’’ He kept saying it—he repeated it even this week.
The revelation had all the makings of a scandal, and the SP was forced to react. While Yadav maintained a studied silence, the SP’s Amar Singh lashed out saying ‘‘Fernandes was daydreaming and living in a fool’s paradise if he believed Mulayam was a political ally.’’ He also said Fernandes had ‘‘no business talking about the internal affairs of another political party’’ and he had done so ‘‘only to create a wedge between the SP and the Muslims in the state.’’
That the BJP had successfully sowed the seed of suspicion in the relationship was apparent from the community’s growing resentment and suspicion for the SP and its leaders. There was a clamour from its leaders seeking a clarification on the so-called ‘‘affair,’’ to issue statements of denial and, to come clean about the SP’s relationship with the BJP. And despite the SP’s later refusal to forge a ‘secular front’ to defeat the BJP, the community retreated from demanding a ‘‘divorce.’’
Just when it seemed the allegations of an ‘‘affair’’ was going to die down, came the recent statement by the Prime Minister himself. As if to confirm the SP’s status as a BJP conquest, Vajpayee revealed to a television channel, ‘‘The SP’s ideology is close to the BJP’s.’’ When the PM was asked to explain this surprise statement, he said, ‘‘We will (in the event of the NDA coming to power again) stress on nationalism and democracy, and it will naturally be easier to work with those parties which have the same commitment towards these issues,’’ he said plainly.
To Mulayam and Amar Singh’s horror, the ghosts of the ‘past’ came to haunt them again. Yadav dismissed the PM’s outburst saying let the BJP first drop the three contentious issues of Ayodhya-Mathura-Kashi and Uniform Civil Code ‘‘before any parallels can be drawn between the SP and BJP.’’
And in a desperate bid to bring its house in order, Singh had to publicly declare the party’s loyalty and fidelity to the community when he said the SP would not align with the NDA-BJP ‘‘even if Mulayam was offered the prime ministership.’’ The last is yet to be heard on the saga.
