BJP veteran drops letter bomb, demands Lokpal within party

In his letter to party chief Amit Shah, former Himchal Pradesh CM Shanta Kumar referred to allegations in "some states".

July 21, 2015 12:29 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 04:53 am IST - New Delhi

File pictures shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi with senior BJP leader and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar during a rally in Pathankot. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

File pictures shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi with senior BJP leader and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar during a rally in Pathankot. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

In the first sign of discontent in the BJP, senior leader Shanta Kumar has dropped a letter bomb demanding a Lokpal’ in the party to tackle the cases of corruption like Vyapam which has “made all of us bow our heads in shame”.

The BJP veteran from Himachal Pradesh in his letter to party President Amit Shah also referred to allegations in “some states”, hinting to the controversy in Rajasthan surrounding Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over Lalit Modi and Maharashtra where there are allegations of corruption against BJP Minister Pankaja Munde.

The 80-year-old former state Chief Minister has pressed for setting up an “ethics committee” which should act like a Lokpal to “keep a check on leaders in the government“.

“I have written the letter and I stand by every word of it. Our party has made glorious achievements. It won with glory, formed government and ran it for a year with glory.

After that stains have started to appear in places. With achievement, your head is held high. Stains cause pain in the heart,” he said on Tuesday.

Mr. Kumar said he has expressed his view and pain to the party president.

His two-page letter, written in Hindi and dated July 10, was posted on the Kangra MP’s Facebook and Twitter accounts on Monday.

Mr Kumar’s letter stated that when the Jan Sangh was formed, the emphasis was on “value-based politics“.

“Gradually, we came to power, and became a ruling party...people started making compromises with those values, and here began the politics of power,” he said in his letter.

However, Mr. Kumar praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model of governance, which he said was an important factor for the overwhelming support the party received during the Lok Sabha polls.

“This was a historic victory under Narendra Modi because of his image and work in Gujarat,” he wrote.

"Stand by what I wrote"

In a latest development Mr. Shanta Kumar on Tuesday said he stands by the letter he wrote to BJP president Amit Shah saying the Vyapam scam had damaged the party’s image.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) journey has been a long one, during which it has achieved a lot, making members proud of it. However, when such incidents happen, it taints the party and hurts its members,” Shanta Kumar told reporters, referring to the Vyapam scam.

“I have just expressed my views through the letter. I stand by whatever I have written,” he added.

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