Rajnath cautions against off-the-record briefings

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Sunday, July 5, 2009

Pix by Malay Kumar

BJP national president Rajnath Singh; has drawn two important conclusions during his introspection after the party performed so poorly in the general election.

First, the party with the difference--the BJP--has caught the virus of dissidence and off-the-record media briefing from other parties. And, second the election results have brought the country back to bipolar politics which is a good sign for the BJP.

He admitted this in his presidential address on the opening day of the two-day-long working committee meeting of the State BJP on Saturday. Addressing the problems that have besieged the party in the wake of the poor performance in the election; Singh cautioned the party leaders not to brief the media off the record.

“It exposes the fault-line of the party,” he said warning, “anybody found violating the party discipline and briefing the media off the record will have to face disciplinary action.” Singh obliquely asked the aspirants for the post of the chief ministership, in the State BJP, not to waste their energy on such issues. “You take care of the party and the party will take care of you…one of your leaders Karia Munda has been rewarded for his dedication. Example is before you,” Singh said.

Besides reviewing the performance of the party in the elections in Jharkhand and patting the back of the State leadership as reward for “discipline and off-the-record briefing” were the main concerns of Singh. Respect for party leadership and ideology, Singh stressed were the hallmark of the BJP. “The Assembly elections are coming close and we should sink our differences to win the election,” the BJP president said confidently asserting that: “So long as the awareness of the loftiness of our party’s goals lights up our path, we have nothing to worry.”

If Singh doled out the right message among the party leaders, former national vice-president Yaswant Sinha was not present in the meeting to receive this message who had a sent a long angery letter to Singh.

“Yaswant Sinha could not attend the meeting, he is preoccupied with the ‘General Budget’-related preparation of the party, State BJP spokesperson Sanjay Seth said.

Stating that the results of the general election had cast a damper on the aspiration of the party to log on to power at the Centre; Singh was not pessimistic in his admission. After a long time the country has returned to bipolar political system of politics after people elected the two major political parties--the Congress and the BJP--to occupy the Treasury and Opposition bench. “It is a good sign for the BJP and the party will return to power in the coming days. Barring these two parties; the people cut short the size of other political parties which did not get more than 20 seats in elections,” Singh said.

He added later on that: “the BJP is the chosen instrument of the divine to rule the country in the coming days and we should not dampen our spirits if the party did not perform well.” At the conclusion of the meet, Singh addressed a Press conference and reiterated the demand of his party: the dissolution of the Jharkhand Assembly and fresh elections. He hit hard at the Congress for often destabilising the elected Government. “You have the example of Jharkhand and Goa where the Congress toppled the BJP-led Government. It is obvious from the result of the general election in Jharkhand that people are fed up with the UPA’s misrule and they want a change,” Singh said.

Promising that the BJP will act as a constructive opposition Singh said the party will support the Central Government to tackle the menace of Naxalism. The solution should be found at both socio-political and economical level, he said