BJP at sea in Rajasthan- Hindustan Times

Mr. Vohra seems to belong to the Elite club of Indian media that doesn’t look at the bigger picture while analyzing issues that have serious impact on the country as a whole. The recent week of violence in Rajasthan is an ugly indication what the caste based reservation policy can do to put a country in chaos. It also shows that there is a general disconnect between the public and government in India both at centre and state level.

Mr. Vohra seems to think that recent violence is only going to have an impact on BJP. I most respectfully disagree. I think the recent agitation by Gujjar community would have serious ramification for the future politics of India. This agitation also refutes the UPA claim that reservation and quotas promote national integration. BJP and Rajasthan government were not “ill-equipped” to deal with the situation as claimed by Mr. Vohra. The fact of the matter is that the same agitation caused serious disruption of public life in Delhi during the Delhi Bandh called by Gujjars. It does not matter if you live in Delhi, Mumbai, Sydney or Los Angeles. If hundreds of thousands people come out to protest and disrupt the public life, there is very little you can do.

You don’t even have a system where you can charge the costs of loss of property to the organizers of these kinds of protests. If that was the case Tamil Nadu should have lost a sum equal to one day of plan allocations from the Centre since DMK government organized a “Bandh” there.

My questions for Mr. Vohra:

Do you think that the present UPA government is ready to deal will fast growing dissatisfaction in the Indian society with the politics of quotas/reservations?

What do you think that DMK government would do if the courts reject its policy of reservations/quotas in excess of 50% as stipulated by the Honourable Supreme Court?

I must remind Mr. Vohra that BJP is NOT a family business like many other Indian political parties. The answer to the question whether or not there is a serious threat to Raje government would depend on BJP leadership not one (God like) leader like in many other parties. The decision would be made by the collective leadership of BJP.

It is not out of place to mention that unlike UPA & Mr. Arjun Singh who believe in the politics of dictation as was evident during OBC quota stir in India, BJP has always believed in the politics of participation and negotiation. The UPA believes in “my way or highway” method of governance. However, Raje government wanted to make sure that Gujjar community does not feel oppressed.

In India corruption is so widespread that the scandals are common in all states. The CM spends more time outside the state is no reason to link the issue of reservation to her performance. Mr. Vohra states, “The general view is that an assurance should not have been given to the Gujjars in the first place. But when an administrative and political solution was not in sight, the state government should have used some method to transfer the issue to a judicial body.” I urge Mr. Vohra to review the promises made by other politicians in India. For example, UPA still claims that it will do OBC quotas in all circumstances.

My next questions for Mr. Vohra:

What would you say about UPA promises if the Honourable Supreme Court finds that OBC quotas are unconstitutional?

Can you make a promise to provide reservation/quotas based on a person’s religion in a secular country?

Mr. Vohra should know that there is a set criteria for determination of ST status. Before rushing to judgment, the author should have taken some pain to describe the criteria for determination of ST status in India. To say that the political measures can only be thought of by political persons and not by the kind who surround the CM at present is unfair to the BJP as a party and the Rajasthan CM. A Chief Minister can keep any advisors and this is not our call to judge the capabilities of those individuals unless we can give examples of inefficiencies.

Now let us talk out the possibility that the CM Raje may be axed. It is the prerogative of a political party to replace its CMs, PMs or any other officials at any time. We should not read too much into changing of guard in Rajasthan. Replacing CMs is something common in Indian political system.

I strongly favor changing of CMs mid-way during a legislature’s tenor to thwart the anti-incumbency factor in elections. It also gives a chance to the new leadership to bring about positive changes which the earlier administration could not do.

There is nothing wrong in calling mid-term polls either. There is nothing unusual, unlawful or undemocratic about it. Completion of the full term is no the only criteria for success. I must say that the present UPA government gets a grade “F” for its performance even though it will compete its full term (most likely).

Furthermore, BJP’s performance in UP has no relationship whatsoever with the recent crisis in Rajasthan. I think we are comparing apples and oranges here. The recent Gujjar agitation would have more impact on UPA than on BJP. UPA is the coalition that believes in dividing the country along the caste and religion lines. The recent crisis has more dangers for UPA’s future than BJP. BJP has always believed in fairness and justice for all.

I strongly feel that Indian columnists and political pundits should analyze the impact of Rajasthan crisis on India as a whole. In my view, India should start investing in education of ALL children if it is serious about becoming a superpower. This vote bank politics for reservation and quotas is taking India nowhere. You need to provide HEALTH, EDUCATION & FOOD to every child in India if you want to compete with the rest of the world. If you want to shine, you must empower your people.

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