The two-day national executive meet of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here ended today on a note of caution that its projection as a divided house, with leaders airing contradictory voices, may mar its chances to dislodge the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre in the 2014 general elections.
Top leaders, including party president Nitin Gadkari, former deputy prime minister L K Advani, leaders of Opposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, told the over 300 members of the national executive about the urgent need to strengthen the party organisation and unity in a bid to meet people’s expectations and prove its credibility as a genuine alternative to UPA.
In a political resolution, BJP claimed UPA had made a mess of governance in the country. There is a profound sense of despair among the people as corruption, indecision and inflation rule supreme. “The people are now looking up to BJP. It is our duty to rise to the occasion, measure up to their expectation and assure the people of good governance,” it said.
Gadkari, who is set to continue as the party president for another three-year term after yesterday’s amendment to the party constitution, emphasised the need for a capable, effective, credible leadership with team coordination. BJP veteran Advani, who is believed to have been disappointed over the present state of affairs in the party, exhorted party members to do everything to fulfil the people’s expectations.
On the other hand, Sushma Swaraj, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, called for stepping up efforts both within and outside Parliament against the UPA government.
Arun Jaitley, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, asserted that BJP must be ready with a plan and a direction to restore the national economy. He added the National Democratic Alliance must exploit the anti-Congress mood prevailing in the country to expand the coalition.
However, the call for unity comes after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi compelled the party president to take a step backward by asking Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak Sanjay Joshi to resign from the executive panel. Cracks surfaced within the party as senior leaders, including Advani, former party president Murli Manohar Joshi and the party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gopinath Munde, were absent when the national executive passed the resolution to amend the party’s constitution, enabling two terms of three years each for the party president.
The trio have been critical of Gadkari’s style of functioning and his recent goof ups over the induction of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)’s former minister in Uttar Pradesh Babu Singh Kushwaha into the party. Kushwaha was subsequently arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission scam in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, BJP stepped up its attack against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying he was in office but not in authority. The party said Singh gave the impression of working more like a chief executive officer, taking directions from the board of a company, whose chairman has all the authority, but practically no accountability.
BJP, in its political resolution moved by the party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gopinath Munde, and seconded by spokesman Shahanawaz Husain on the concluding day of the meet today, alleged that the prime minister lacked political authority. The party further said there was a fundamental flaw with the political structure that UPA was following.