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Journalism of Courage
Undeterred by the presence of RSS supremo K S Sudarshan in the city and unmoved by the gathering dissent within against his leadership, a defiant BJP president L K Advani refused to heed the RSS’s July directive that he announce a timetable for his exit, stoutly defended his controversial Pakistan formulations, and sought to recast the BJP-RSS relationship as one between equals rather than the mother-child mould it has always been set in.
Advani’s presidential address on the opening day of the three-day BJP national executive that began here this evening was marked by a vitriolic attack on the UPA government (he reiterated that Manmohan Singh was India’s ‘‘weakest prime minister’’ ever) and a recycling of old rhetoric on issues such as infiltration, cultural nationalism and a Ram temple at Ayodhya.
But for national executive members hoping for some clarity on the post-defeat turmoil in the party, the speech offered little direction. Towards the end, Advani did mention the issue of discipline in passing.
‘‘Recent cases of indiscipline have caused deep distress to all of us and to our entire support base. All party units must ensure that internal democracy and discipline go hand in hand,’’ he said.
But given that Advani was forced to take back both Uma Bharati and Madan Lal Khurana despite their acts of gross indiscipline and that he himself stands accused of ‘‘ideological deviation’’ on the Jinnah issue, that stern message is unlikely to have much impact on the growing dissidence within the party, insiders feel.
In fact, the ‘‘coincidental’’ presence of Sudarshan in Chennai—who arrived here this morning escorted by chief Advani-baiter Murli Manohar Joshi—and the soundbytes from the likes of Bangaru Laxman demanding a more ‘‘democratic’’ leadership indicated that the problems in the BJP might accentuate rather than get resolved here.
Sudarshan was in Chennai today, enroute to an RSS workers meet in Trichy over the weekend, for an eye check-up at the Shankar Netralaya. But the fact that Joshi chose to break journey at Nagpur to accompany the RSS chief to Chennai and briefed him through an emissary on the BJP deliberations this evening was proof enough that Sudarshan was here not just to check his own sight but the BJP’s vision as well.
Advani offered him little solace on that score. Although this was his first formal address at a party meeting after his Pakistan visit, he not only refused to apologise for the Jinnah remarks but reiterated his pet ‘‘moderate Pakistan’’ line.
Without mentioning Jinnah, Advani said he had aimed to do two things during his May-June visit to Pakistan. First, ‘‘to remove any impression that people and leaders of Pakistan might have that we in the BJP are permanently opposed to the country.’’ And second, ‘‘to encourage’’ those in Pakistan who have begun to question ‘‘Jihadism.’’
And in a clear refutation of the Sangh Parivar’s advocacy of ‘‘Akhand Bharat’’ and its demonisation of Pakistan, Advani asserted: ‘‘We need not be apologetic about promoting friendship with Pakistan or for welcoming the moderation that is coming up there, however faint the glow may be now—we must nurture this flame in the hope that its light will spread, rather than do things that will cause its extinction.’’
Elsewhere in the speech, Advani also praised another hate figure in the Sangh pantheon—Pervez Musharraf. Attacking the UPA government, he said, ‘‘What an irony that in contrast to the Indian government’s policy of appeasement of fundamentalists, Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has ordered a crackdown on madarsas in his country and ordered all foreign students to be expelled.’’
Although less direct, Advani’s formulation on the RSS-BJP ties was ideologically very significant. Describing it as a ‘‘symbiotic relationship,’’ Advani said: ‘‘Both the organizations have benefited immensely from this relationship and together they have succeeded in bringing out ideology of cultural nationalism to the centrestage of India’s life.’’
On the face of it, Advani was praising the fountainhead of the Sangh Parivar. But the subtle subtext was that BJP and RSS were equals—and the RSS needed the BJP as much as the BJP needed the RSS.
Advani’s speech, party insiders said, was indication enough that he was determined to stay on as chief on his own terms. He is banking on the fact that the ‘‘disgruntled’’ elements such as Messrs Joshi, Pyarelal Khandelwal, Bangaru Laxman, Jana Krishnamurthy, Yashwant Sinha et al are has-beens without much clout.
And the fact that BJP dissidents—unlike in other parties—prefer to speak to the media than air their grievances at large party forums.
If the dissidents, backed by the RSS, do not challenge him openly over the next two days, Advani is hoping on a Bihar victory to see him through the rest of his term. That is why he exhorted partymen today ‘‘to ensure that the electoral blow against Laloo Prasad is so severe that it knocks the foundations of his ally, the Congress party in Delhi too.’’
