AAPs SHADOW LOOM LARGE IN THE BJPS EXECUTIVE MEETING (Appeared in the Times Of Indias web Portal) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI: BJP may not acknowledge the threat from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) publicly but deliberations in the partys national executive on Friday suggests it is wary of the challenge from the greenhorn. On the opening day of the discussions about the 2014 polls, the AAP factor, which prevented the party from retaking Delhi in December and, as corollary, sweeping the state polls, figured prominently in the saffron huddle, with party chief Rajnath Singh suggesting that Congresss support for Arvind Kejriwal was part of its political plot to thwart the formation of a strong government. In his inaugural remarks at the national executive, Singh went on to talk about the role of foreign forces who would like to ensure that India remained without a strong government, the saffron euphemism for a government led by Narendra Modi. Singh also questioned AAPs credentials about integrity, the plank which propelled it to power. He said the concept of honesty was broader and went beyond ones personal integrity to cover political morality and commitment to the countrys integrity. The formulation marked a not-so-veiled attack on the anti-graft outfit for forming the government with Congresss support and over its leader Prashant Bhushans controversial views favouring plebiscite in J&K and a referendum to determine the deployment of Army in the sensitive border state. Although Singh avoided mentioning AAP by name, by the end of the day, party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain admitted, if obliquely, that the BJP meet did take Kejriwals party into consideration along with other rivals. When we talk about Congress, we are equally vigilant about all its allies be it NCP, SP, BSP or AAP in Delhi, Lalu Prasad (RJD) in Bihar or DMK in Tamil Nadu, he said. Till now, the Congress hand was with aam aadmi (common man). Now it is with the Aam Aadmi Party (Congress ka haath aam aadmi ke saath tha, ab hai Congress ka haath AAP party ka saath). AAP will be protector of Congress. In Delhi, they have already joined hands, he further said. Speaking at the executive, Singh said resentment against Congress had swelled due to malgovernance, indecisiveness and corruption in the UPA government. Congress can see the writing on the wall and knows that defeat is writ large there. Congress is losing the elections and hence is trying to ensure that BJP does not get a clear majority. It is making every effort to stop BJPs march to success, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters, quoting Singh. Singh mocked Congress for using the communal card against BJP, and asserted that the NDA will form a strong government which will not only be strong on economics and ethics but will also never compromise on the issue of nationalism. His remarks coincided with a strong attack on BJPs communal politics by Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the AICC session. The BJP chief claimed that people will give a decisive mandate to BJP and NDA will form a government at the Centre, saying after the Goa conclave (where Narendra Modi was named BJPs campaign committee chief) not only the weather but also the attitude of people has changed.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 06:21:38 +0000
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