The seemingly tough stance being adopted by a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders against those professing secular views in the State is being construed as a bid to win the goodwill of the Sangh leadership that has wrested absolute control over the organisational apparatus of the party.
Moderates in the party, including former State presidents and senior leaders, have chosen to either remain silent or distance themselves from the row kicked off by general secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan, who lashed out at literateur M.T. Vasudevan Nair and film-maker Kamal.
A prominent section in the party, sources said, felt that the caustic comments against Mr. Vasudevan Nair and Mr. Kamal had frittered away the gains the party had made through consistent efforts to build up a secular image by shedding the Hindu tag it had been bearing for long.
The remarks of Mr. Radhakrishnan and its endorsement by State president Kummanam Rajaeskharan, they felt, had put the party on the defensive. And that too at a time when it was struggling hard to register its presence as a credible Opposition in the State.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has wielded complete control over the party from the State leadership to the grassroots-level through an organisational revamp. Party leaders who had been holding pivotal positions in different strata were reportedly eased out and substituted with hardcore Sangh activists. Though upset by the move, BJP leaders resolved to remain silent fearing disciplinary action from the national leadership. The caustic comments that invited public wrath against the party, came in handy for those who had been nursing a grouse against the revamp and also allegedly being sidelined by the new leadership.
While senior leader C.K. Padmanabhan openly challenged the leadership and said that none reserved the right to issue an ultimatum to critics of the Sangh to quit the country, State spokesperson M.S. Kumar gave a mild reminder on Facebook on the need for providing elbow room for a healthy debate by those cherishing diverse opinions.
Strangely, votaries for the hardliners have not increased and more leaders feel that such positions will not do any good for the party in the long run.
The war of words is being cited as a clear instance of the growing tussle between the Sangh supporters versus the rest. The BJP national leadership’s bid to quell dissent had worn off following the public debate, and regaining the lost ground that the party had won among other sections of voters, especially the minority communities, would be a tough challenge, sources said.
