Is the BJP turning senile?

India’s right-wing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party at the Centre and in power in 11 states, is crumbling. After facing a humiliating defeat in its bid to corner the central United Progressive Alliance government over the nuclear deal last week in the Parliament and having lost considerable ground in the currency-waving scandal, the party is seemingly loosing its moral and psychological balance. Just when the nation is shocked over the terror caused by blasts in India’s two big cities – Bangalore and Ahmedabad – one of BJP’s top spokespersons Sushma Swaraj on Monday alleged, exhibiting a new low of moral bankruptcy in the party, that the blasts were engineered to divert attention from the Note-For-Vote scandal. This was a direct reference to the Congress party which leads an umbrella of coalition at the Centre.

While the Congress has surely reacted with rage, for common people, this marks a new low in Indian politics, coming as it is after another gloomy episode of currency waving scandal in the Parliament, in which also, BJP had a key role to play.

The comments by Swaraj is in a series of such baseless and mindless utterances by senior BJP leaders in the recent past.

First, L K Advani said on July 22 that the three BJP MPs who had waved wads of currency in the Parliament had his approval – a veteran leader like him could not foresee the kind of damage it could inflict on India’s pristine institution. Then in the aftermath of party protesters turning violent and attacking houses of MPs who had defected in the Trust Vote over Nuclear Agreement, another spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said recklessly that the attacked MPs should go and seek shelter and support from 10 Janpath (Where Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi resides) and Prime Minister. This was a bizarre and one of the most irresponsible statements one could think of from a mature party like BJP.

The writing on the wall is clear. The BJP has lost the plot and in its bid to outsmart its key opponent is making ridiculous accusations and moves. Strangely, the party which shouts in coarse voice over corruption is itself deep-neck into it all: in Operation Chakravyuh, a sting carried out by a TV channel to expose MPs who took money for raising questions in the Parliament, most MPs were from BJP. The first sting op in the Country by one Tehelka.com exposed the then BJP president taking cash as bribe. A leading columnist, quoting Media Watch group, wrote in a Hindi newspaper Punjab Kesari on Monday (July 28, 08) that every 8th MP in BJP’s pack of 130 in the Parliament is tainted. Also the group found that BJP has the maximum number of tainted MPs: 22.

Incidentally, the maximum number of MPs who defected on this Trust Vote, too were from BJP highlighting the moral bankruptcy of the party. Now if amid all this the party claims to preach and follow the most truthful path, it sounds plain absurd.

A friend commented in desperation, “I didn’t know craving for power mixed with lack of it could make BJP leadership so rudderless and senile.”