BJP releases booklets on Emergency

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 24. Political anniversaries being notoriously partisan affairs the BJP is working overtime to squeeze as much mileage out of the 25th anniversary of the Emergency as it possibly can with its top guns ready to fire-starting tomorrow.

The first to be off the bloc would be the party chief, Mr. Kushabhau Thakre, with a public meeting in Hyderabad tomorrow, and on Monday the Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, would hold forth in Delhi on the lessons of the Emergency. At a sneak preview of its weeklong Emergency roadshow the party today released two booklets, Darkness at Noon and Remember the Emergency as reminders of the ``darkest'' period in independent India.

This, observers thought, was rather glib stuff coming from a party that was itself associated with a particularly dark period- the demolition of the Babri Masjid; and for which it had yet to apologise. The Janata Party president, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, was quick to remind the BJP and the RSS that some of their own leaders had been ``apologists'' for the Emergency and therefore had ``no moral right'' to rake it up. Besides, with the Congress(I) ``confirming'' that the party had already apologised for the Emergency, it was now for the RSS and BJP leaders ``such as Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee who should ask public forgiveness for writing abject apology letters to Mrs. (Indira) Gandhi and seeking parole on promise of good behaviour during the emergency.''

The Congress(I) too had a few questions for the BJP: how about apologising for the demolition of Babri Masjid? For the brutal killing of Graham Stewart Steines and his children? For the attacks on Christians; and for those killed in the ``BJP- organised riots''? it asked.

In Left circles, the BJP-Congress(I) exchanges in the run-up to the Emergency anniversary over who should apologise for what were seen as an exercise in upmanship on the one hand and a battle for the past on the other. ``Instead of using the occasion for some introspection and ensure that history doesn't repeat itself they are trying to score political points in a most distasteful manner'', a Left leader said.

He cautioned that some of the features of the Emergency- intolerance, impatience with constitutional arrangements, and vulnerability to excesses of power-were still abroad, and the Vajpayee Government would be better advised to do something about that if it wanted its anti-Emergency posturing to be taken seriously.

Cautionary voices, though perhaps inadvertently, came from within the ruling establishment as well as from the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, who stressed the importance of ``internal democracy'' in political parties and warned that parties which did not believe in this would not be able to save the country from dictatorship.

``Today, political parties are in a state of disarray and barring a few others have bid good-bye to internal democracy. This can prove to be dangerous for democracy in the country,'' the Samata Party leader said without naming any party. Though clearly targetted against the Congress(I), observers said his remarks could well apply to many constituents of the National Democratic Alliance.

Mr. Fernandes was the least apologetic about sitting on the same table with some of the leading figures of the Emergency era such as Mr. Jagmohan and Ms. Maneka Gandhi. He saw them as ``saints'' with a past who had chosen to come out and work for a better future. And he was almost ``technical'' in his approach to the attacks on Christians, shrugging off the charge that there was a whiff of religious intolerance at work here.

``It is the State's duty to protect the life and property of its citizens. If such incidents take place anywhere, they should be dealt with strictly. This is not a question of any particular caste, religion or community. Maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of State Governments and they should take necessary action against those trying to create a social divide among the people,'' he said.

As the BJP and the Congress(I) slugged it out, the CPI(M-L) declared ``plague on both houses'' and said it would observe the anniversary as ``anti-fascist day'', directed against both.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Hasina re-elected party chief
Next     : TULF asks LTTE to join political process