The Hindu : `Controversies will only help BJP'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 17, 2003

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National

`Controversies will only help BJP'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 16. The Bharatiya Janata Party today claimed that `ghatiya rajniti' (low-level politics) that led to controversies over a party leader offering `cake' to Hanuman and her recent trip to Kedarnath would not harm the BJP. ``It will help the BJP electorally,'' the party general secretary and spokesperson, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said today. He would not agree that these controversies have given an upper hand to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, in the run-up to the elections.

Although the party is seen to be projecting Uma Bharati as its Chief Ministerial candidate in Madhya Pradesh, Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and possibly has Madanlal Khurana in mind for Delhi, no decision has yet been taken about the three of them, who are all MPs, contesting Assembly seats in their States. ``The State units will take a decision on this later. In any case, they do not have to contest the Assembly elections,'' Mr. Naqvi said.

The office-bearers' meeting in Jaipur on May 25 is scheduled to discuss the state of affairs in the States going to polls this year. The feedback has been asked from the States on ``scandals'' related to the ruling Congress. These reports will be considered by the central office, which will then release ``charge-sheets'' against the Congress Governments.

The party will campaign hard ``to throw out'' the ``ghotala, ghoos, ghamand aur ghatiya Congress sarkars (scandalous, bribe-taking, proud, but incompetent Governments),'' Mr. Naqvi stated.

Framing of these charge sheets against the Congress-ruled states, organisational issues and the question of induction of 10,000 full-time party workers ahead of the elections will be discussed at the meeting.

But when the ``scandal'' in Uttar Pradesh was mentioned — where a Minister in the Government (in which the BJP is a partner) is allegedly involved in a murder case — Mr. Naqvi said that ``anybody charged in criminal cases should not remain in power and in the Government.'' He also added that the ``BJP was in touch with the State Chief Minister, Mayawati, on this issue.'' Privately, some party leaders say the BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, has talked to Ms. Mayawati on this issue, as it was aware that the scandal is hurting the party's image.

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