The ruling disconnect

Why do political parties forget what they did and said when they were in power?

Take the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2004, when the discussion first started on banning exit polls and opinion polls, the BJP was right there in the front, asking for a ban on both. Now look at them. They are saying banning opinion polls is an idea that has struck the Congress when the opinion polls are showing that it is going to lose. Not only that, they have slapped the Congress with a litany of charges from trying to muzzle freedom of press to fundamental rights, etc.

 

Similarly, on the question of VIP security, both Minister of State for Home ID Swami and Home Minister LK Advani had decried the growing trend of seeking VIP security because it came with a sense of power (and a free house in Delhi!) and harked back to history when life was simple and no one sought security. You only have to look at parliamentary debates.

 

BJP was the party that began insurance sector reform. Now it is divided in two about whether they should proceed with letting foreign insurers come to India.

 

There seemed to be a similar u-turn on the issue of convicted lawmakers. A BJP MLA convicted for over two years continued to be not just an MLA but also a minister in the Gujarat government even while the BJP was arguing in Delhi that letting off convicted 'netas' was 'immoral'. Now that the MP from Junagadh, Dinubhai Solanki, has been arrested by the CBI for the murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa, we have to see how long the conviction takes and whether Solanki is fielded from the Junagadh seat again. 

 

Jethwa was campaigning against alleged illegal mining in the Gir Sanctuary areas in Saurashtra region, which is allegedly backed by some politicians.