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| Is the BJP over? | | Corruption, Scams | | Early Times Report
Jammu, July 12: No one had hoped that the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would loose its appeal and sheen and become an object of contempt and ridicule, but it has happened. It is facing the same charges the Congress faced during the UPA II regime. Not only opposition, even its ally Shiv Sena has been tearing into the BJP and questioning the intentions and capabilities of Prime Minister Modi and accusing him of promoting corruption and shielding the corrupt. His foreign policy vis-à-vis Pakistan is also under severe attack. People across the country too have become critical of the BJP, the BJP-led Central Government and the BJP-led governments in various states. They are attacking its political, social and economic policies and accusing it of going back on its promises and flirting with big corporate houses. The media, particularly the electronic media, too has become highly critical of the Prime Minister and the BJP leadership and the unnerved BJP spokespersons have been accusing the media of painting the Prime Minister and the party black.
The Central Government is in the dock in Delhi. The BJP governments in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jammu & Kashmir are also in the dock and at the receiving end.
The Modi Government is facing criticism and is in the dock because an impression has gone down that it has been encouraging corruption and protecting the corrupt. The BJP is being dismissed today as "Ghotala Jumla Party" and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "modern days' Dharitrashtra". He is also being termed as "Maunmodi". Narendra Modi has not spoken to media even once after assuming power in Delhi on May 26. If at all he spoke during these 13 months or so, he spoke only on foreign soils or during the party functions or public rallies or official functions. He has not spoken a word in favour of or against those in the BJP against whom charges of corruption have been leveled or who are being charged with helping fugitive Lalit Modi or who gave wrong information in affidavits submitted to the Election Commission of India. The case in point is the charges being leveled against Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani. Reports from New Delhi suggest that the opposition will disrupt the Monsoon Session of Parliament commencing on July 21 in case the "tainted" ministers are not shown the door before the commencement of the Monsoon session.
In J&K, the BJP has been in serious trouble ever since it became part of the coalition government on March 1, 2015. People of Jammu region have virtually revolted against it. They are accusing the BJP of bartering their as well as national interest for the sake of power. They are also accusing the BJP of "betraying their trust" and "cheating" them and reducing them to a nullity in the polity. What has added to the difficulties of the BJP in J&K all the more is the controversial decision of the coalition to shift the proposed AIIMS for Jammu from Jammu to Kashmir.
The AIIMS Coordination Committee (ACC), which has been spearheading the movement for the establishment of AIIMS in Jammu since May 21, has intensified its anti-BJP campaign across the region and threatened that the region would revolt against it and the state government in case the BJP failed to honour its June 18 written commitment that positive orders on the issue of AIIMS would be issued by the government of India latest by July 20. The fact is that the J&K BJP leadership is under tremendous pressure and has become extremely unpopular with the opposition parties fishing in the troubled waters and occupying the BJP's political space.
As for the BJP cadres, they are looking forward to the outcome of the meeting between the J&K BJP leadership and the party high command, held today in Delhi. They are of the view that "the party high command has bungled in J&K" and "they are being looked down upon by the general masses in Jammu". "Log hum per aur hamari leadership per thoo thoo kar rahein hain" (people are spitting on us, on our party and on our leadership), they have been saying, adding that "they have not been able to muster courage to face the angry people of Jammu region". What they have been saying speaks for itself. Indeed, July 12 is a crucial day for the J&K BJP.
In Maharashtra, two Cabinet Ministers are being accused of being corrupt and the Congress and the Shiv Sena have upped their ante against them. They are demanding their resignations. One of the two ministers Pankja Munde is accused of being involved in Rs 208-crore scam. She and the Government of Maharashtra are playing with the lives of school children, the opposition has been saying for more than two weeks now.
In Rajasthan, the entire opposition has been after Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje. It has been demanding her resignation on the ground that she has dubious links with fugitive Lalit Modi and she committed an "anti-national act" by influencing the British authorities so that Lalit Modi was not deported to India to face legal action for his dubious financial transactions. Her Lok Sabha MP son is also being accused of the same charges. He and her mother have allegedly minted easy money through hawala transactions and have been allegedly exploiting the official properties for making money.
In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is in the dock. The entire opposition is after his head, saying he played with the career of over 70 lakh youth and he is also involved in a scam that has already consumed 47 lives. The Supreme Court last Thursday further added to his woes by ordering the CBI to look into the corruption charges against the Government of Chouhan and MP Governor Ram Naresh Yadav. The entire opposition has described the Supreme Court verdict as a victory of the honest over the corrupt.
In Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Raman Singh is in the dock because he is being accused of being involved in the Rs 36,000 crore scam. The opposition is demanding his resignation.
All this does not augur well for the BJP. The BJP would suffer huge losses across the country if the Prime Minister and the party high command failed to come clean. They have to convince the people and the opposition that their party is a party with a difference. But the task is not that easy.
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