'Party needs to be fixed': In open letter, BJP veteran Shanta Kumar tells Amit Shah party's head hangs in shame

While the Opposition has been mounting attacks on the Narendra Modi government over several controversies ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the party was left red-faced when senior party MP Shanta Kumar joined the chorus and criticised the government over Vyapam and Lalit Modi controversy. The 80-year-old MP dashed off a letter to BJP chief Amit Shah and said Vyapam scam “made all of us bow our heads in shame”. [caption id=“attachment_2354022” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Kangra MP Shanta Kumar. Image courtesy: Facebook[/caption] “We came to power with a lot of pride and formed the government at the centre. One year of the government was an year of outstanding achievements. (But) while we were celebrating our achievements… came an eclipse,” a report in The Indian Express quoted Kumar as saying in the letter. In this two-page letter, which the senior MP shared on his  Facebook profile, Kumar said, “From Rajasthan to Maharashtra, people started pointing fingers at us. Reports about Madhya Pradesh’s Vyapam scam made all of us bow our heads in shame… It is very natural for the people to feel highly disappointed and frustrated. The BJP workers are unable to face it. Gradually, we came to power, and became a ruling party… people started making compromises with those values, and here began the politics of power.”

मैं अपने समस्त राजनैतिक जीवन में उच्च मूल्यों का पक्षधर रहा हूँ | भारतीय जनता पार्टी सदैव मूल्य आधारित राजनीति की पैरवी … Posted by Shanta Kumar on  Sunday, 19 July 2015

Shanta praised the leadership of Narendra Modi and efforts of Amit Shah for expanding the party and wrote: “Now, we expect you to make the BJP a strong and effective organisation.” At a time when all BJP leaders and ministers are stoutly defending its ministers and has decided that it will aggressively counter the opposition’s attack on them, Shanta Kumar is a first BJP MP who has raised his voice against the controversies that have put the Modi sarkar in a tough spot. Shanta Kumar in the letter also added that the party should set up a Lokpal to look into these issues, NDTV reported. However, Kumar on Tuesday said that he did not want the letter to be leaked to media but “I stand by what I said in it.”

Did not want letter(to Amit Shah) to be leaked to media, but I stand by what I said in it-Shanta Kumar,BJP pic.twitter.com/pP35GG8z22

— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2015

On Monday, an all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon Session ended in a deadlock over controversies related to Lalit Modi and Vyapam scam even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered to discuss all issues. The government ruled out any resignations. “There is no question of accepting ultimatum by anybody. From where did the question of resignation arise? Nobody can dictate terms to the government. From Government side, no Union Minister has done anything illegal or immoral,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said. With agency inputs