The silence of the veterans: Is BJP’s old guard speaking up too late against Modi govt?

Bhopal: The BJP old guard is flexing political muscles. It’s doubtful whether the muscles have enough strength left to trouble the party leadership now, but critical observations from the likes of LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha have certainly embarrassed the party leadership when it is already under pressure from a resurgent opposition. The BJP may have started paying the price for keeping the wise, sober counsel out and compromising intra-party democracy over the past one year, but does the action of the veterans come too late?

Advani had obliquely suggested that the tainted ministers should at least offer to quit after being sucked into the Lalitgate. Strangely, however, he abstained from making any reference to Shivraj Singh Chouhan whose dispensation apparently has blood on its hands. Earlier Advani had, for obvious reasons, rated the Madhya Pradesh chief minister higher than Narendra Modi. What prevents a leader of Advani’s stature from being forthright? Sinha and Joshi, on the other hand, have minced no words. Sinha can afford not to care for the RSS of which he was never a member. He has tossed aside the government’s claims of economic recovery as just statistical.

Joshi on his part debunked the government’s claims on cleaning the Ganga. “At the present rate Ganga can’t be cleaned even for 50 years,” he had said. Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti was humble enough to say she would meet Joshi to learn about shortcomings in the government’s programme. No such niceties from the prime minister though. The party leadership might want these leaders to use the party forum to air their dissent. But, how often does it invite them?

Another vocal critic is the former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya. At 72, he is not in the same league as the three veterans but his remarks are pithy and well-meaning. He wants the Swaraj-Raje issue to be viewed “ethically and morally and not technically.” But will the prime minister heed Govindacharya’s suggestion to take advice of those marginalised into ‘margdarshak mandal’?

Just as the nation thought it had enough reasons to reject a discredited Congress, the emerging leadership within the RSS and the BJP thought it had enough reasons to affect a paradigm shift in the geriatric party. There was merit in the strategy of archiving the older lot.

Atal Behari Vajpayee is neither an admirer of Modi nor is he in a physical or mental frame to oppose him. But, since the party can still milk his goodwill he has been put in the advisory council or Margadarshak Mandal. The other two, Murli Manohar Joshi and LK Advani have to be accommodated for political propriety. Old party hands and the media are lampooning the Margadarshak Mandal as Mookadarshak Mandal (mute spectators’ council). The prime minister and the immediate past president of BJP Rajnath Singh are there to keep company and stave off criticism over insensitivity to party elders.

The Modi-Shah duo just acted on expected lines.

The council hasn’t met even once since it was constituted a year ago. There is no provision for an advisory council in the party constitution nor did the party notify any. The formation was obviously hogwash. Ironically, the members of hallowed council were neither consulted nor informed about its constitution. Advani was not even called to the recent meeting to mark the 40th anniversary of the Emergency.

Only the infatuated naïve would accept the BJP’s claim to banish corruption from the country. The party never had a track record to back such boast. Pictures of Yeddyurappas, Sukhrams, Judeos and Bangaru Lakshmans adorn its hall of shame. When Narendra Modi set out to wrest power from a beleaguered Congress he caught public fancy with “Na Khaoongana khanedoonga” slogan. He clicked because UPA had let down people with an inept performance. He conjured up fantastic images and failed to live up to heightened expectations.

What we see now is the real BJP at NTP (normal temperature and pressure) as opposed to the hyped version seen before the elections. Forget electoral victories or losses. Just as its gains were disproportionate to its popularity elsewhere, its loss in Delhi was disproportionate to its unpopularity. What should worry the government and the party is the steep drop in the credibility of the Modi dispensation. The issues raised by the veterans are about morality, efficiency and accountability which the new BJP leadership refuses to acknowledge.

Deep down the new leaders are aware of their failures. They believe it is infra-dig to admit them. Perhaps they could swallow the ego and get in touch with the margdarshaks.