Gadkari's rant against I-T officials shows why he's unfit to lead

Nitin Gadkari, who just two days ago seemed like bowing out of office with grace and in the larger interests of the party, has now managed to prove many things: that he is unfit the lead, and that he continues to damage the party even when he is not its President. The income tax raids on his Purti Group may have helped tip the balance against him in the BJP presidential sweepstakes, but that is no reason for him to behave like a street-gangster. He can’t afford to be a sore loser. “Mard hoon, dekh loonga. I-T department yad rakhe, BJP ki Sarkar ayegi tab kahan jaoge?” Gadkari is reported to have said to his supporters after returning to his home town of Nagpur, reports the Hindustan Times. This is the kind of underworld language that Salman Khurshid, now External Affairs Minister, managed to use with Arvind Kejriwal, when the latter made disclosures about his trust for disabled persons. “They can come to Farrukhabad, but let’s see how they go back,” Khurshid remarked about Kejriwal’s plans to hold a demo in his political backyard. Gadkari has now done a Salman. [caption id=“attachment_602110” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] In fact, Gadkari’s statements have not only diminished him, but also damaged his party. PTI[/caption] Sorry to say, Mr Gadkari, you are neither Mard nor the wronged party here. A true m__ard will not make empty threats; and holding the tax department responsible for his travails, even assuming they were nudged to conduct the raids, is like trying to shift the spotlight away from his own sins of omission and commission involving the Purti Group. Worse, by threatening to take action against the tax officials who conducted the investigations, he has proved that the BJP’s charge – that the Congress uses agencies of the government to harass the opposition – will not be taken seriously. He has promised to do the same if the BJP comes to power. So why elect such a party if it is only going to conduct a vendetta? In fact, Gadkari’s statements have not only diminished him, but also damaged his party - to protect the reputation of which he resigned as president in the first place. Not only that, he has tied the party’s hands even if comes to power. If any official is transferred or moved out by a BJP, it will automatically be suspect. Gadkari’s comment will be held against the party. Quite clearly, Gadkari, consumed by the belief that everyone is out to get him, has proved that he is no leader. One wonders what the RSS saw in him that it believed he could run the BJP despite his many faults. If the BJP must redeem itself, it should quickly distance itself from Gadkari’s statements. They are unbecoming of the man who was president of the country’s main opposition party.