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New Delhi
By Sujay Mehdudia
What has added to the jitters in the party now is a move by the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to raise the prices of LPG cooking gas and kerosene in the next few weeks. The horrible memories of the increase in the last Union Budget, which led to a strong wave of resentment and defeat of the party in the MCD elections, still haunt the BJP leaders and cadres and they are wary of any further misery on this front. Political observers are of the view that the drubbing the party received in Himachal Pradesh had dented its belligerence and has put it on the back foot for the time being. The onslaught of the Delhi unit against the Sheila Dikshit Government has subsided and an atmosphere of self-introspection prevails in the party. No longer is it picking up issues and hitting out at the Congress. It is learnt the party had been decided to adopt a wait and watch policy. "Let the celebrations in the Congress camp die down and the ground realities prevail. Delhi is no Himachal and what plagued us in the hill State seems to have infected the Congress badly in Delhi. The jovial mood in the Congress could in fact lead to complacency and prove to be their Waterloo in the elections scheduled for November,'' a senior BJP leader said. But what has been even worse than the defeat in Himachal is the continued shrill caused by the constant utterings of Mr. Jagmohan who sees everything wrong with what the Delhi BJP leadership does. Not only has he castigated the BJP and the Union Urban Development Ministry for killing his plan for Delhi but also trying to bring back anarchy and destroy Delhi by indulging in populist and unplanned measures. This is learnt to have caused uproar in the party and many Delhi leaders, including the party president, Madan Lal Khurana, are understood to have taken up the matter with the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.Advani, and the party president, Venkaiah Naidu, and asked them to restrain the Minister from going public. ``If Mr. Jagmohan has any grievance, he could highlight it at the party forum or during the meetings of the Union Cabinet. But he does not have to go public on the issue and cause embarrassment to the party. If he is so much concerned about the whole situation, then he could well resign and hit the roads in protest. But as long as he is in the Government, he should learn to live within party discipline and Government parameters that govern every Minister or individual. Such pronouncements damage the image of the party and show everybody poor light,'' another senior BJP leader remarked. For the Delhi BJP leaders, the Union Budget has also fallen short of expectations. What has become a major is that its demand for sops to the salaried class, except for restoration of LTC, have gone unheeded. And now the talk about hike in price of LPG and kerosene is causing nightmares. Already, the BJP is being cursed for the unprecedented hike in the price of diesel and petrol and any further hike in petroleum products could cause disaster.
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