Shimla, August 20
Having succeeded in diverting the focus away from the urgent organisational matters facing the BJP to Jaswant Singh’s book on the first day of the three-day Chintan Baithak, the party appeared in no mood to let go this issue.
Putting away the contentious issues, the party seemed to be stuck with its obsession of ‘Jaswant Hatao, BJP bachao’, for the second consecutive day today devoting its time and energy issuing diktats to each BJP-ruled state to let no one read Jaswant’s work of “Heresy and Blasphemy.”
Leading the charge was Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who likes calling himself Chhote Sardar. He issued a fatwa from Shimla to ban the sale and display of Jaswant’s book in every part of Gujarat, provoking Jaswant this morning to characterize Modi as the new Imam Khomeini who had similarly banned Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan promptly followed suit. Other BJP-ruled states like Karnataka and
Himachal Pradesh where the Baithak is currently going on, may also fall in line.Sans the diktat, the book had suddenly caught the fancy of book-sellers in Shimla. Amidst all this controversy yesterday at least two book shops on The Mall rushed to prominently display the book along with a poster of the book jacket bearing a life-size portrait of Jinnah on the cover. Sources claimed that one book seller had got a couple of copies autographed by Jaswant in the hope that these would may fetch him some extra cash.
Chhote Sardar’s move came in handy for L.K. Advani also fashioning himself after Sardar Patel. He has always been pleased when his admirers call him Sardar Patel-II or Lauh Purush. Sardar Patel was also called the Iron Man.
As if to confirm BJP’s obsession with Jaswant Singh, his successor, the present Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley spoke to the media today, devoting almost the entire meet justifying Jaswant’s expulsion.
Jaitely argued that being a frontline leader Jaswant had no right to propound a theory contrary to the core ideology of the party and explained the urgency saying, “Sensing the gravity the decision was taken at a specially convened meeting of the Parliamentary Board before the Chintan Baithak.”
“The Party President has the prerogative to take such decisions. He exercises this right occasionally when he expels party members contesting against official candidates. No show cause is issued then,” Jaitley remarked.
As for the timing Jaitely said, since the Parliamentary Board met for the first time after the release of the book, it decided to take the matter immediately. He also insisted that “The party has no problem with a leader or worker indulging in any intellectual exercise provided it does not go against the core ideology of the BJP,” he said.
Underplaying Advani’s praise for Jinnah in 2005, Jaitely said,”Advani only referred to the speech of Jinnah made before the Pakistan Constituent Assembly, so comparing the two incomparable would not be fair,” he said justifying two different parameters adopted by the BJP on the Jinnah question.
Jaitely also virtually confirmed that any discussion on Advani’s retirement, consequent generational change and infighting in the party leadership has conveniently been ignored when he said, “Bal Apte report did not come up for any discussion.” Bal Apte report is supposed to have touched the issues which could only spoil the mood of camaraderie and bonhomie in a happy parivar currently prevailing among the 24 odd members of the party ensconced in the idyllic beauty of this summer resort.
The presence of Advani’s daughter Pratibha and his Man Friday Deepak Chopra has only added to the family feeling being promoted by Advani in this meeting.
Thee was speculation that after ousting Jaswant the Parliamentary Board may meet again today to show BJP legislative party leader in Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje also the door, since she has been cocking a snook at BJP president Rajnath Singh who has asked her to resign her post. But Jaitely denied such reports.
