The Janata Dal (United)’s decision to sever ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party and walk out of the National Democratic Alliance is hasty and irrational. The reason given by the JD (U) — the elevation of Narendra Modi as the BJP’s election campaign chief — is unacceptable. Every party has a right to elect or nominate any of its leaders to any position or delegate any responsibility. The BJP is not the same as the NDA.
“Secularism” and “communalism” are only political labels, which have nothing to do with governance and policy issues.
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Of late, all political parties have been playing the communal card against the BJP, wanting to portray themselves as secular. But no party in India is secular. All parties promote vote bank politics, which is hardly the foundation of secularism. Political relationships are a matter of expediency.
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Chennai
The JD(U)’s departure from the NDA on the ground that Mr. Modi’s elevation in the BJP constitutes a grave threat to secularism is strange. Its relationship with the BJP began in 1996, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and continued during the 2002 Gujarat riots and after. Where were its secular values then? Or, for that matter, human values?
Tanzeem ul Hasan,
Moradabad
Nitish Kumar should resign as Bihar Chief Minister as he was the NDA’s nominee. He has let down those who voted for him by walking out of the alliance. Mr. Modi’s elevation is an internal matter of the BJP as he himself said earlier. The BJP has not announced Mr. Modi’s name as its prime ministerial candidate in 2014.
R.N. Rajan,
Bangalore
By snapping ties with the BJP, Mr. Kumar is surely making it easy for Lalu Prasad to win elections in Bihar in future. The Maharajganj by-election proved that the JD(U) cannot win an election by itself. If Mr. Kumar feels he can garner the Muslim vote with his latest move, he is mistaken.
K.R.A. Narasiah,
Chennai
One did not expect an astute leader like Mr. Kumar to precipitate matters to a point of no-return. After all, it was he who said Mr. Modi’s elevation in the BJP was an internal matter, which indeed it was. Why did he suddenly decide to leave the NDA?
M. Swaminathan,
Chennai
Mr. Kumar made known his discomfort over Mr. Modi’s prominence in the BJP on many occasions. With the final JD (U)-BJP break-up, we can expect political polarisation on “secular” and “non-secular” lines. The latest development will benefit the anti-BJP forces, particularly the Congress.
Vishwas K. Pehere,
Ahmednagar
The NDA is losing its sheen and shrinking. Mr. Modi has the backing of the BJP cadre because of his lung power. The older generation which appreciated parliamentary skills and the political vision of L.K. Advani is thinning out and can no longer stop Mr. Modi, who plays to the gallery with his jibes. In the next few months, he is bound to get exhausted.
Swamy Keshav G.,
Bangalore