Neena Vyas
The use of abusive language by Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari against two strong backward caste leaders of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh could not have come at a more inopportune time for the BJP which is struggling to revive its base in the Hindi heartland.
With one sentence Mr. Gadkari may have undone what the BJP spent decades doing in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – trying to get rid of the tag of ‘Brahmin Jain Party.' From the 1990s — when K.N. Govindacharya cautioned the party to change its ‘chaal, charitra aur chehra' (behaviour, character and face) and recommended “social engineering” — the party ensured the rise of tall backward caste leaders. It was Kalyan Singh in U.P., Uma Bharati in Madhya Pradesh and Sushil Modi in Bihar. Later it was Shivraj Singh Chauhan in Madhya Pradesh and Narendra Modi in Gujarat.
In one stroke now, Mr. Gadkari's comment at a rally in Chandigarh on Wednesday – “Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav who roared like lions have kneeled before the Central Bureau of Investigation and are now like … ” – has invited politicians from across the political spectrum to comment on the “new low” in the use of “indecent language” by politicians.
Although Mr. Gadkari was quick to retract his comment – he did so in Chandigarh on Thursday saying he was withdrawing the words if they had hurt anyone — no one was ready to buy his half-hearted apology, not even his own party men.
“Those of us who have interacted with him frequently were not surprised by his language. He often uses rough language,” said one party member who ought to know. Former U.P. president and senior leader Kalraj Mishra acknowledged publicly that he could have used better language, although his party spokesperson, Nirmala Sitharaman, tried to put a lid over the controversy saying “the chapter is closed” as the “respected” party president had himself retracted.
The issue threatens to become much bigger. In Patna, Mr. Prasad has seized upon it. He has called a meeting of party workers on Friday where a decision on “taking the issue to the people” is expected. The RJD is raring to make this a mass issue to consolidate its backward-caste support base.
The SP has said it would consult legal experts to come to a conclusion whether a PIL should be filed against Mr. Gadkari for the slur which it alleges has casteist overtones.
One of the main allies of the BJP, the Janata Dal (United), is the most pained, since Bihar's Assembly elections are later this year. “In a democracy political opponents can present their case in the strongest possible way, without crossing the necessary limits of decent language. Such words should not have been used, but, thankfully, he has retracted,” said JD(U) president Sharad Yadav.
The JD (U) is hoping the issue will die a natural death, like so many others. It is also hoping that the RJD will not be able to make this a rallying point for the numerically strong OBCs. But how exactly it will play out in the dusty lanes of rural north India remains to be seen.
One more danger party leaders see in the Gadkari remark is that RJD could use it to stoke the Marathi ‘manoos'-Bihari contradiction that manifested itself in violent incidents in Mumbai streets thanks to Raj Thackeray's MNS and the Shiv Sena, a staunch ally of the BJP. If the two issues do get linked, the BJP may have to pay a heavy political price in Bihar.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was quick to denounce Mr. Gadkari's remarks. “No civilised person should use such words…whether a national level or state level leader…people will not accept such language.”
Mr. Gadkari's blunder has come when the party is still grappling with the fallout of a hasty decision by the BJP Parliamentary Board on withdrawal of support from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha after its support to the government against the cut motion of the Opposition.
Party leaders recognise and admit that the JMM is not part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. As a separate party it had every right to vote the way it wanted to. After all, the JD(U) voted differently on the women's reservation bill, and the Shiv Sena, the BJP's oldest ally, parted ways with it on the vote in the presidential election, preferring to vote for Pratibha Patil against the BJP-supported Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Why the fuss over the JMM vote, some party leaders have wondered, while others see in this the play of the BJP's internal politics.
Mr. Gadkari took over as party president late December last year. A reluctant party accepted what was forced on it by the RSS leadership. But now that the honeymoon period is over and serious mistakes made by him are there for all to see, rumblings have begun to be heard. Those could get louder in the months to come.
Is it not a fact that Laloo and Mulayalam roared like a lion that they would vote against the government and when the government blackmailed them about cases against them, they became obedient lap dogs and voted for the government? Gadkari is a bold leader who has no hesitation in telling the truth, however bitter it is. It is better to use biting language and be honest than use sweet language and be dishonest. We need more leaders like Gadkari.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article429251.ece
The use of abusive language by Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari against two strong backward caste leaders of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh could not have come at a more inopportune time for the BJP which is struggling to revive its base in the Hindi heartland.
With one sentence Mr. Gadkari may have undone what the BJP spent decades doing in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – trying to get rid of the tag of ‘Brahmin Jain Party.' From the 1990s — when K.N. Govindacharya cautioned the party to change its ‘chaal, charitra aur chehra' (behaviour, character and face) and recommended “social engineering” — the party ensured the rise of tall backward caste leaders. It was Kalyan Singh in U.P., Uma Bharati in Madhya Pradesh and Sushil Modi in Bihar. Later it was Shivraj Singh Chauhan in Madhya Pradesh and Narendra Modi in Gujarat.
In one stroke now, Mr. Gadkari's comment at a rally in Chandigarh on Wednesday – “Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav who roared like lions have kneeled before the Central Bureau of Investigation and are now like … ” – has invited politicians from across the political spectrum to comment on the “new low” in the use of “indecent language” by politicians.
Although Mr. Gadkari was quick to retract his comment – he did so in Chandigarh on Thursday saying he was withdrawing the words if they had hurt anyone — no one was ready to buy his half-hearted apology, not even his own party men.
“Those of us who have interacted with him frequently were not surprised by his language. He often uses rough language,” said one party member who ought to know. Former U.P. president and senior leader Kalraj Mishra acknowledged publicly that he could have used better language, although his party spokesperson, Nirmala Sitharaman, tried to put a lid over the controversy saying “the chapter is closed” as the “respected” party president had himself retracted.
The issue threatens to become much bigger. In Patna, Mr. Prasad has seized upon it. He has called a meeting of party workers on Friday where a decision on “taking the issue to the people” is expected. The RJD is raring to make this a mass issue to consolidate its backward-caste support base.
The SP has said it would consult legal experts to come to a conclusion whether a PIL should be filed against Mr. Gadkari for the slur which it alleges has casteist overtones.
One of the main allies of the BJP, the Janata Dal (United), is the most pained, since Bihar's Assembly elections are later this year. “In a democracy political opponents can present their case in the strongest possible way, without crossing the necessary limits of decent language. Such words should not have been used, but, thankfully, he has retracted,” said JD(U) president Sharad Yadav.
The JD (U) is hoping the issue will die a natural death, like so many others. It is also hoping that the RJD will not be able to make this a rallying point for the numerically strong OBCs. But how exactly it will play out in the dusty lanes of rural north India remains to be seen.
One more danger party leaders see in the Gadkari remark is that RJD could use it to stoke the Marathi ‘manoos'-Bihari contradiction that manifested itself in violent incidents in Mumbai streets thanks to Raj Thackeray's MNS and the Shiv Sena, a staunch ally of the BJP. If the two issues do get linked, the BJP may have to pay a heavy political price in Bihar.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was quick to denounce Mr. Gadkari's remarks. “No civilised person should use such words…whether a national level or state level leader…people will not accept such language.”
Mr. Gadkari's blunder has come when the party is still grappling with the fallout of a hasty decision by the BJP Parliamentary Board on withdrawal of support from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha after its support to the government against the cut motion of the Opposition.
Party leaders recognise and admit that the JMM is not part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. As a separate party it had every right to vote the way it wanted to. After all, the JD(U) voted differently on the women's reservation bill, and the Shiv Sena, the BJP's oldest ally, parted ways with it on the vote in the presidential election, preferring to vote for Pratibha Patil against the BJP-supported Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Why the fuss over the JMM vote, some party leaders have wondered, while others see in this the play of the BJP's internal politics.
Mr. Gadkari took over as party president late December last year. A reluctant party accepted what was forced on it by the RSS leadership. But now that the honeymoon period is over and serious mistakes made by him are there for all to see, rumblings have begun to be heard. Those could get louder in the months to come.
Is it not a fact that Laloo and Mulayalam roared like a lion that they would vote against the government and when the government blackmailed them about cases against them, they became obedient lap dogs and voted for the government? Gadkari is a bold leader who has no hesitation in telling the truth, however bitter it is. It is better to use biting language and be honest than use sweet language and be dishonest. We need more leaders like Gadkari.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article429251.ece
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