Even as the Women's Reservation Bill struggles to stay the course, the Nitin Gadkari-led Bharatiya Janata Party has demonstrated exemplary support to the cause of female empowerment by allocating close to a third of its party posts to women. This is a message as much to the Bill's biggest and loudest champion — the Congress party — as to the obstructionist Yadav troika of Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad, and Sharad Yadav. Although the Congress was the first to decide in principle that women should get a critical share of party posts, Congresswomen continue to be a largely invisible lot. In allocating generous space to women at various levels in the party hierarchy, the BJP has shown that gender justice need not become hostage to legislative battles. Team Gadkari also scores in bringing a blend of experience and youth to the table. Old hands expectedly dominate the party's parliamentary board while a fair sprinkling of young people, drawn from diverse social backgrounds, have made it to the lower echelons of power.
When Mr. Gadkari beat competition from a range of heavyweight insiders to become the BJP chief, not many thought him capable of finding his way in the factional minefield that the BJP has become in recent years. The new incumbent was inexperienced in realpolitik, and moreover, the shadow of Jhandewalan loomed large over his appointment. In the event, Mr. Gadkari has proved that he has a better grip of politics and party affairs than most of the veterans. The confidence has begun to show — especially in Parliament where Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj have emerged as formidable team leaders. It was at Mr. Jaitley's instance that the Women's Reservation Bill came to be debated before being put to vote in the Rajya Sabha. His speech in support of the Bill reflected bipartisanship of a kind sorely lacking in Indian political discourse. More importantly — without prejudice to what this newspaper thinks about the BJP's disintegrative political programme and ideology — it came across recently as a sober party capable of making its point skilfully, without resorting to drama and bad behaviour. There is also a flip side to the new thrust. Team Gadkari includes the disagreeable and intemperate Varun Gandhi, who has been rewarded with the prize post of party secretary. The accommodation of the young man from a famous lineage, whose vitriol against Muslims fetched him a prison stay during the 2009 general election, is a concession to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. As long as the BJP remains a child of the shadowy RSS, it will not be able to resist the temptation to play communal politics — which has proved to be its undoing again and again.
Keywords: Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitin Gadkari, Congress party, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Congratulations to Nitin Gadkari who has taken an important step towards rehabilitating BJP from humiliating losses in the election. It is needless to say that proof will be in the pudding and the performance of his team will be closely watched. It is a herculian task to stop the bickerings of the people who didn't make it to the team, but it is also important to give the new team a chance to perform.
Regarding RSS Jhandewalan connection and Varun Gandhi's hate speeches, those need to be looked at as well and I hope RSS allows Nitin to function true to its claims of being apolitical, which many people don't buy completely. Varun Gandhi should try to find his mark on UP politics and not to blindly copy his cousin, Rahul. The country can use both cousins especially if they do good for the people.
In the USA, the keyword is "bipartisanship" by which important political decisions are taken in a consensual fashion. In UK, the Prime Ministers are made accountable by being made to stand before fact-finding Committees. The Media as the fourth estate lends to these democratic values by consistent support to this value-based politics. In our country, the need for a healthy Opposition has never been realized. Its support of the powers-that-be,overt and covert, and virulent criticism Opposition has been always pervasive in the mainstream media. As a result, with all values gone,we now run the risk of becoming a banana republic or a failed state. The baby step taken by The Hindu towards "bipartisanship"is a welcome step in the dismal political scenario
While no comment has been made on the other members who have been included in the team, it is a pity that Varun Gandhi's inclusion has been mentioned with lot of emphasis on the that too. It appears as though the praise in the initial part of the editorial needed to be negated in the latter part for the sake of it. No mention about Najma Hepthullah and Shah Nawaz Hussein ( both from the minority section ) that too in a party that is percieved as essentially anti-muslim, is a glaring omission. But, that is only to be expected from the editorial team that is overtly enthusiastic in announcing at every opportunity that it is more anti-BJP than every other editorial team in the media space.
Had the BJP not come to power, we would still be dreaming of those swanky highways or telecom revolution. Congress is nothing but a typical political party where every thing starts and ends with Gandhi. Is there anything remarkable that the UPA has done which is even comparable to NDA's rule?. India does not need good leaders; she needs GREAT and Revolutionary leaders who might or might not have some personal or behavioral problems. They should put country, her people and her development as their first priority. Why do you target such a patriotic organization as RSS? It only opposes policies of appeasement of Muslims which has seriously resulted in backwardness of Muslims of India.
While complementing Mr.Gadkari, the editorial couldn't resist the temptation to have a dig at BJP's ideology, its RSS connection and of course Varun Gandhi. Did BJP, while in power at the Centre, do any harm to the Muslims. Of course there were the Gujarat riots during that period. But what happened in Gujarat was not different from the anti-Sikh riots by Congressmen after Indira Gandhi's assasination. But the latter was long forgotten by the media, while Gujarat and one of Varun Gandhi's election speeches remain a weapon in the armoury of the media to beat BJP with. When nearly a billion people of the country are reeling under the impact of prices of essential commodities going through the roof, the media is not agitated. It allows the government to get away with lame excuses and no action. But when a garland of notes was given to Mayawathi by her supporters the media was busy jeering at her. When the investigators called Chief Minister Modi as part of the investigation of the Gujarat riots, a gleeful media had nothing else to talk about for days. The media seems to think that the opposition is a nuisance and a road block for progrss. The fourth estate is clearly forgetting its mission. A post script: this writer is not a BJP or a BSP supporter.
The media should present verifiable facts about RSS and let the public decide whether it is communal or not. It should not become self appointed guardians of secularism and pass judgments.
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