NDA plans to boycott Sonia swearing-in
MANDATE 2004
| According to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President M Venkaiah Naidu, the decision was taken first at a meeting of the BJP this morning and later when Naidu and NDA Convenor George Fernandes went to meet Vajpayee. |
| "The day Sonia Gandhi takes over as the Prime Minister of this country will be a 'black day' for us," said Naidu. |
| Naidu also said the BJP would extend moral support to those protesting the Congress choosing Italian-born Sonia Gandhi as their candidate for prime minister. |
| On Sunday, former party ideologue Govindacharya had launched the Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan and earlier outgoing Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had offered to resign her Rajya Sabha seat over the same issue. |
| "The mandate of the people is not for Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister, it was a non-NDA mandate. When the NDA fought elections, they clearly projected Vajpayee as the Prime MInister, while the Congress alliance remained silent," he said. "It is unfair to foist a foreign-born Prime Minister on the country," he added. |
| Though the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had already started to agitate over Sonia's foreign origin issue, the BJP till today was not ready to openly associate itself with the movement. |
| According to sources within the party, the understanding was that it would appear unchivalrous to make a personal attack on a woman. Having received a positive feedback from the party cadre, the BJP has now decided to openly identify itself with the anti-Sonia protests. |
| Besides trying to rally the party around this emotive issue, the BJP is also looking at other ways to revitalise itself. |
| According to sources within the party, leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh are going to be given bigger responsibilities as far as the party organisation is concerned. |
| "Some general secretaries and vice-presidents will be removed and LK Advani will be more concerned with the day-to-day activities of the organisation," said a senior office bearer of the party. |
| With the anti-Sonia agitation taking centrestage, the reorganisation of the party has again been put on the backburner. |
| "Let us first look at the position then the Opposition," Naidu said. |