New Delhi, July 16: The BJP is watching helplessly as journalist and party leader Arun Shourie tears into it in a series of articles in a national daily. Shourie’s second piece in the series appeared on Wednesday and at least two more are on their way.
Despite Shourie’s disclaimer that the issues raised “are true of all our political parties”, there are portions that leave no doubt what or who he is referring to. Wednesday’s article quotes nearly verbatim Maharashtra leader Gopinath Munde. About the leadership’s refusal to examine reasons for the party’s poor showing, Shourie says,
“The leader and his circle… galvanise their nominees in the states. “No, no. We can’t afford any witch-hunts,” these nominees of nominees declaim. “Elections are coming up in our state. Inquiry-shinquiry will cause all sorts of mud to be hurled. Our chances will be destroyed.”
As the BJP talks of standing by Hindutva, Shourie writes, “One day they lunge for a ‘hard’ formulation — to win back the ‘core constituency’… the next, they lunge for a ‘soft’ formulation.”
In another passage, Shourie makes clear references to Arun Jaitley and LK Advani’s liking for him: “Everyone above and below comes to rely on the clever strategist, on the deceitful, for he leads them to victories. Either that clever person or someone even more deceitful rises to the top.”
He does not spare Advani either. “These henchmen become the leader’s eyes and ears. They feast off him when he’s in office. They dissuade him from quitting when he clearly should… the leader is only waiting to be ‘persuaded’.”
While BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said any worthwhile points Shourie makes would be taken up at the chintan baithak in August, Shourie has predicted it would lead to “an inquiry to fix responsibility. But who is to inquire? The leader and his circle, who led the organisation to this pass.”
–Agencies