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Friday,
December 28, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP announces poll strategy
YEARENDER BJP Advani: police failed
to protect mosque |
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Kashmiris
‘not behind’ Parliament attack
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BJP announces poll strategy New Delhi, December 27 Party spokesman Sunil Shastri, however, said the BJP would go it alone in Uttaranchal, contesting all 70 Assembly seats. Elaborating on Uttar Pradesh, Mr Shastri said they would tie up with Mr Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, the Lok Janshakti and the Janata Dal (U). However, he said the party had no proposal as yet to accommodate the Indian National Lok Dal led by Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. He said those who had been part of the government would be accommodated in constituencies where the party would not contest. Mr Shastri said the UP unit of the BJP would soon meet to finalise its list of recommendations and the announcement of the candidates would be made after the central election committee approved it. On apprehensions that the BJP might use the Ayodhya issue for electoral gains, Mr Shastri said the party had already made it clear that it had no such plans. However, he added that the BJP would certainly reply back if the Opposition made it (Ayodhya) an issue. He said the BJP wanted the dispute to be solved through negotiations, failing which the issue should be settled through court. On his party’s prospects, Mr Shastri said the BJP was fully geared up and was confident of returning to power in UP, Punjab and Uttaranchal. Meanwhile, the party will hold a meeting of office-bearers tomorrow afternoon ahead of the BJP National Executive meeting convened to discuss issues concerning national security on December 29.
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Cong to go it alone in Uttaranchal New Delhi, December 27 Uttaranchal Pradesh Congress Committee Observer Dhirendra Pratap said the party was confident of wresting power from the BJP in the state. “People are dissatisfied with the ruling party for its misrule, lack of development work and false promises,’’ he said. The Pradesh Congress Committee will meet in Dehra Dun on January 2 to prepare its strategy for the election.
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YEARENDER BJP New Delhi, December 27 Caught between the dictates of power and altruistic calls to follow a puritan and spartan course, the BJP continued to be pulled in two almost opposite directions thus confusing the party cadres. The battle between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the non-Sangh followers continued to rage within the party as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Union Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani had to undertake a tightrope walk to keep the NDA government going. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Sangh parivar outfits kept the NDA government on tenterhooks throughout the year. But the party’s own story was no different. While Mr Bangaru Laxman, who was chosen to lead the party by none other than Mr Vajpayee, had to step down unceremoniously in the wake of the Tehelka, new President K Jana Krishnamurthi also could not make much impact on a party which had been pulling in different directions for quite some time. Mr Krishnamurthi’s failure to revive the party’s image received a setback as he had to whittle down the much trumpeted code of ethics under the instructions of the BJP high command. With the code of ethics being pushed aside at the asking of power hungry and materialistically oriented middle ranking leaders of the party, Mr Krishnamurthi’s efforts to assert the party’s role over the government came to nought as his authority did not remain unchallenged. The Prime Minister and his camp preferred to interact with the party via former party President Kushabhau Thakre rather than dealing with Mr Krishnamurthi which created different centres of powers in the party. The state of affairs in the party was amply reflected during the celebrations of its 50 years of existence when at a special session of the National Executive Committee of the party in the Capital on October 21, 2001, Mr Vajpayee took everybody present by surprise saying that there was a “communication gap” between the party and the Government. The popular confidence continued to erode as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government hopped from one crisis to another. In Assam particularly, where the party high command forced the state unit into accepting an electoral alliance with the then ruling Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), the BJP’s image was further exposed. Internal party differences and factional feuds gave a further blow to a party which took pride in projecting the values of discipline, patriotism and probity as the cornerstone of the BJP. Ego clashes forced the party high command to change the Chief Ministers in Uttaranchal and Gujarat as the party high command reluctantly accepted the RSS nominees. |
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Advani: police failed to protect mosque New Delhi, December 27 “The state government had forbidden the use of firearms and not the use of police force as such,” Mr Advani said while deposing before the Liberhan Commission, probing the sequence of events leading to the demolition of the disputed structure. The Home Minister was responding to commission counsel queries based on the theory that local authorities and the police appeared to be mute spectators on the day of demolition, ostensibly under the instructions of the then Chief Minister. Observing that the kar sevaks who demolished the mosque did not face any resistance from the police force, he said, “They failed in their duty which was to protect the disputed structure.” Exonerating the Kalyan Singh government on this account, Mr Advani said: “All I can say is that this inactivity of the police personnel was not because of the instructions of the state government. It may be because of the overall atmosphere.” To another question, the Home Minister also denied that the BJP had associated itself with the Ayodhya movement with an objective of “creating a Hindu vote bank.” Meanwhile, The Hindu Masasabha today took a swipe at Home Minister L.K. Advani for his reported statement before the Liberhan Commission that the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya was a “big setback” to the BJP. “Mr Advani’s statement tantamounts to a betrayal of the entire Hindu community and is extremely tragic. The Hindu populace will never forgive him for such a statement,” the Mahasabha said. It was Mr Advani who led a “rath yatra” from Somnath to Ayodhya with the purpose of rebuilding the Ram temple, it said. |
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Kashmiris ‘not behind’
Parliament attack New Delhi, December 27 “It is some one or some agencies acting in the name of Kashmiris carrying out the attack on democratic institutions of the country,” Mr Qureshi, who arrived here after being granted bail by a court, told reporters at the airport. Meanwhile, Chief of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Shah and Mr Qureshi, who were here, told reporters that January 6 SAARC summed was an “opportune time” for India and Pakistan to sit together and sort all differences. “God forbid, if there is a war, it will not be fought with rockets or grenades but with nuclear weapons as both the countries have brandished the same ample number of times,” Mr Shah said. |
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