No one can issue fatwa against us, says BJP; JD(U) against ‘fanatic face’ as PM nominee
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s recent statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party should project a person with ‘secular’ credentials as prime ministerial nominee (a veiled reference to the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi), has escalated into a full fledged war of words between the sangh parivar and the Janata Dal (United).
JD(U) general secretary Shivananda Tiwari, a confidant of Mr. Kumar, said on Wednesday that if the BJP were to project a “fanatic face” as the National Democratic Alliance’s prime ministerial candidate, his party would have to walk out of the alliance.
The JD(U) and the BJP run a coalition government in Bihar. The BJP retaliated by saying that no one had the right to issue a fatwa (diktat) on its secular credentials.
Rare intervention
In a rare political intervention, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has been reported as telling a meeting of RSS workers in Latur (Maharashtra) earlier in the day that Mr. Kumar’s statement was aimed at appeasing some vote banks, a reference to the JD(U) base among minorities in Bihar.
Mr. Bhagwat has been reported as saying, “Nitish Kumar has said the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate should be secular. He has made the statement so that his vote bank remains intact.”
It is unusual for the Sangh chief to speak in such candid terms on political persons and it indicates that the RSS is fully behind the Gujarat Chief Minister.
Quoting those present at the meeting, PTI said Mr. Bhagwat described Hinduism as an “all-inclusive” religion and wondered why a “Hinduwadi” should not become Prime Minister.
“Hinduism is the religion of humanism. You are right and we are also right, Hinduism follows this broad philosophy,” he was quoted as having said.
To keep alive the Hindu ideology, the Hindu ‘samaj’ should come together and the country should have a prime minister who believes in that ideology or propounds that view, he reportedly said.
Growing antipathy
The antipathy between Mr. Modi and Mr. Kumar is not new. The latter has kept a safe distance from the former and had refused to share the dais with him in the last Assembly elections in Bihar.
Emergence of the Gujarat Chief Minister to the centre stage of the BJP at the recent Mumbai National Executive and the talk of Mr. Modi as possible prime ministerial candidate has been a cause of concern to the JD(U).
Mr. Modi’s remarks last week, blaming “festering caste politics” in Bihar as the main reason of its backwardness, gave an opening to Mr. Kumar to hit back at his Gujarat counterpart.
In an interview to The Economic Times on Tuesday, Mr. Kumar let it be known in unambiguous terms that the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate should be someone with “secular credentials.”
Mr. Tiwari asserted that the NDA could not come to power with a “fanatic face” and his party would not compromise on principles on which it had joined the alliance in 1996.
Incidentally, it was Mr. Tiwari who echoed the sentiments of Mr. Kumar that a contest for the sake of contest in the Presidential election would serve no purpose.
Mr. Tiwari had claimed that surveys had shown that had the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, dismissed the Modi government for the post-Godhra riots in 2002, the NDA would have still been in power and would not have lost the 2004 general elections.
JD(U) chief and NDA convener Sharad Yadav merely said, “Nitish Kumar is a responsible person. If he has said something on which somebody else has said something, what is the need for me to paraphrase it further.”
Needless controversy: Bulbir Punj
BJP Rajya Sabha member Balbir Punj said, “This is a needless controversy. Nobody has a right in this country to give fatwa as to who is secular and who is not. People have their opinions.”
It is generally believed that caste politics is at its worst in Bihar and sad state of affairs there to a large extent is due to nepotism and corruption. To that extent Modi is right. Shivanand Tiwari till yesterday was a confidant of Lallu Yadav. To day he speaks for Nitish. Tomorrow if BJP comes to power he will undoubtedly be waving the saffron flag. In the present state of the country Modi appears to be an icon of hope but yes he must clearly demonstrate his repentance for the mistakes committed due to inexperience and emotional response due to burning of Karsevaks in the train. All said and done it will not be in the interest of the country to condemn a match winner for the past follies.
This Nitish Kumar is thinking highly of himself. Ideologies aside, he is still not a match for Modi on the development and popularity fronts. It is pretentious of him to think he is on an equal footing and can challenge Modi.
Secularism is an umbrage to Nitish Kumar in attacking Narendra
Modi. His is the real jealousy of Modi's achievements in
Gujarat. Nitish is running a coalition Govt. with BJP having more
number of MLAs now, whereas Modi is elected without any other
party's backing not once but twice by the people of Gujarat.
Nitish's behavior was proved peevish when he refused 5 crores of
flood relief offered by Gujarat Govtto the fpeople of Bihar
since its came from Modi's rule. He also cancelled the dinner
hosted by him to BJP leaders at Patna since Modi was a
participant. These all show how jealous Nitish is with Modi
personally. Modi's rule is reflected now in Gujart, by many
Christians and Muslims taking the leadership of Local Bodies in
Gujarat. If Janata Dal (U) moves out of NDA, at the instance of
Nitish Kumar, it is the loser and not BJP or NDA.
Nitish and Narendra Modi both stands for pro-development initiatives in
their respective states. This acrimonious behavior of Nitish is needless
controversy. Modi may have a tainted past, but that is yet to be proven.
What is proven is that he is a great administrator. Why can't Nitish
just live with that. I am sure it will not impact Muslim votes in Bihar.
Muslims in Gujarat vote for Modi.
Mr bhagwat is right,Mr kumar is playing vote bank politics
It is really sad to see such a pathetic state of the nation. No leader is propogating nationality making it difficult for the common man to vote for the right candidate. No party should be given authority to choose the PM candidate. There should be structural reorganization of PM elections. All the prospective candidates should nominate themselves to the EC and let the people decide. It can be accomodated in general elections by having ranking system. Atleast such political drama is spared by doing so.
Indeed "people have their opinions". What Balbir Punj seeks to ignore is that people also have the right to express their opinions, and the right to decide on political alliances based upon their opinions.
It does not seem to make any sense to have discussion over a subject which will
arise only after the elections in the year 2014 and there are bound to be be many ifs
and buts between now and 2014. Such an exercise would merely be a waste of time
and energy and would confuse the minds of the general public who are already
suffering under the weight of spiraling prices of essential commodities and lack of
basic amenities of life even after sixty years of independence.
Exhuming secularism as an excuse is nothing but a political stunt by Nitish Kumar. He wants to get out of the NDA and join the UPA but wants to look like a victim and not a renegade.
His reason is obvious. With a leader of Narendra Modi's stature in NDA, Nitish Kumar cannot go far. But in the UPA with its aging,lacklustre leadership Nitish he can be a giant. Secularism will no more win elections in 2014 than 'charisma' did in 2012.
It is not Nitish Kumar's business to say who is secular or not. It is for the people of country to decide. If he fights an election against Mr.Modi the former will stand to lose. Keeping vote bank politics in mind he is unleashing such comments. The whole world is looking at Modi as the Best suited person for the job. Let the country decide not Nitish Kumar
I think that the recent spat between Nitish Kumar and the BJP is
extremely silly and BJP leadership is to blame for this fiasco.
Eversince independence the Political parties have been playing with
the concept of Secularism for their narrow political ends and to
perpetuate the division of society along religious lines. It is a
matter of shame that BJP & RSS combine have not addressed this issue
decisively till date. If the party had stressed the concept of
Indianness and fought for an uniform civil code all through, religious
chauvanism would automatically have taken a back seat and we all would
have been Indians first with religion only as a matter of private
faith and belief. Hindus, Muslims and others would have been
administered under the same law and we would have had a truly secular
society. It is time that BJP takes a firm stand and approach the next
election with a manifesto to implement a truly secular society. This
will make the BJP a party with a difference in the true sense.
Without Congress making any efforts,they are getting the desired results and being benefited by the controversies between two great
personalities who were future hopes for many.
It is quite unwarranted raising the this issue now. It will only help UPA to divert people's attention from the serious problems now the country facing. If JDU is sincere in their alliance with BJP, this issue should be discussed in NDA meeting.
What and whom the people of India collectively favour as Prime Minister, is a thing nobody can say, because there is no system to determine this in a parliamentary system. The Chief Minister of Bihar is talking as though he has in his pocket the Power of Attorney of the people. When Dr Manmohan Singh was "nominated/elected as Prime Minister in 2004,neither he had any clue of what was happening to him, nor the public which voted for UPA. This in itself more than demolishes Mr Nitish Kumar's contention that people vote on basis of secular/pseudo-secular/non-secular credentials of person being projected as Prime Minister. It is all merely a question of asking, if the glass is half full or half empty ? In other words,political leaders can interpret the results as it suits them. The thing that is so sure in India even today is the politics of vote banks and appeasement. to illiterate poor 'aam admi' who is least worried about the would be PM or his credentials at the time of voting.
Could you please tell the world where was Mr 'Secular' Nitish Kumar between 2002
and 2004? Was he not part of the NDA? Has he got selective amnesia. Who is he
trying to fool? All the media will keep quiet as it suits them. It is better for the BJP to
be defeated in the elections than to win and work with such cheap politicians.
well if JD(U) withdraws its support from NDA on this issue... then they
should promise they won't join Congress after next elections. that is
the only thing that can prove they are thinking about country and not
about vote bank.
The views of Mr,Tewari and Mr,Nitish Kumar on the Prime Ministerial Candidate for the NDA for 2014 general elections should be considered if the NDA want to give a good fight to the UPA.
The RSS and the BJP can not be allowed to split the nation in the name of "hindutva". The nation already shed lot of blood in the name of religion.So the coming election must be fought on the developmental agendas and not in the name of religion and cast or region.
2014 election will be fought on development and corruption free india not failed secularism,modi is much better ahead of all,modi is required in this juctionof time when whole nation has been in dispair,frustration and totally in downslide,we need a leader who could show some guts to put the economy back on order, improve governance wih iron hand and put whole vip looter in jail,,modi is right choice
These are the stupid controversy.. why our ministers are more concern
about the secularism and communal problems, today's people don't believe
in these useless issue, they will support to whom, has the ability to
develop the nation, who can fulfil peoples dream and can make a better
growth for the country..
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