BJP's ill conceived mud slinging

Ever since BJP was voted out of power it has repeatedly demonstrated its desperation at its fate. Vicious opposition to Pratibha Patil too is born out of the realization that one more time it would be on the losing side. However, there is also the suspicion that this time as a part of its long term strategy it might have launched the tirade to undermine the office of the President in its current form to pave way for the presidential form of government!

It would be unfair to accuse the BJP of mindlessly launching a vicious attack on the credibility of the UPA nominee for President Pratibha Patil nevertheless one is baffled by the malacious campaign launched ever since her candidature was announced. Perhaps the BJP has become too desperate after the euphoria of the Punjab polls and the equally depressing result of the UP elections; perhaps unable to make any headway in Goa it has opted to vent its frustration during the Presidential poll.

The question, however, remains why has the BJP chosen to throw stones at others while being sheltered only by a glass house; and, what does it aim to gain by this. Even more importantly it is important to find out if the stones that are being cast by it are genuine stones or are they in fact just papers rolled as stones?

At the very outset one needs to stress the need to have a President who has enough stature to command the respect of every section of the society. It also needs be stressed that the President is the head of the Indian Republic and that the Republic is a political being. Having said that, it goes without saying that the constitutional head of a political being perforce needs to be a political being to give direction to it and therefore the candidature of either Pratibha Patil or Bhairon Singh Shekhawat cannot be faulted. It must also be conceded that Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has had an excellent five years in office but it also must be admitted that people like him are exceptions rather than the rule. If every five years we were to have someone like him in public life then India would be catapulting it self in the front rank of developed nations immediately.

Thus Pratibha Patil's candidature cannot be faulted on the count of her being a politician. Shekhawat, in fact, has a longer association with a political ideology that is considered divisive by many in this civil society. His pretending to be an independent is an insult to the intelligence of the common citizen of India.

Having thus failed, the BJP took recourse to moves that are going to reverberate long after the election has been fought and won. The first salvo was fired during a press conference held by one Rajani Patil from Patil's home town at the residence of Akali Dal, an ally of BJP, MP, S.S.Dhindsa. She accused Pratibha Patil of using her influence to safeguard her husband from criminal investigation. Once it was realized that the accusation had neither any substance nor the person accusing any credibility, the BJP and its partners abandoned that line to target the bank and the cooperative with which Pratibha Patil was associated.

For a few days the mud flew thick and fast and the BJP leaders hogged the limelight. Ironically, none bothered to verify the antecedents of the people who were making allegations of financial irregularities against Pratibha Patil. A proper scrutiny brings out the fact that the allegations that hogged the headlines in some newspapers were made by a faction of the unions in confrontation with the management and that it does not come as a surprise that these factions happen to be the union arm of the BJP. It is now known that when Pratibha Patil was the Chairperson of the Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Cooperative Bank, Jalgaon in the year 1990 no loan was sanctioned which did not conform to the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Even the RBI has recorded in 1995 that all loans sanctioned by the said bank followed the normal lending rate of 13%. It is true that there were a few relatives of Pratibha Patil who availed loan from the cooperative bank. Mrs. Anjali Patil took a loan of Rs. 7.00 lakhs, Raj Kaur Patil a loan of Rs. 5.00 lakh and Kavita Arvind Patil too took a loan of Rs. 5.00 lakh. All these persons who were the clients of the bank availed a normal banking transcation and in due course paid all the loans including the principal amount and the interest at the rate prescribed by the RBI. Pratibha Patil has been the Chairperson of the sugar factory in Jalgaon till December 2001 and a Director till 2003 before demitting all offices at the time of becoming Governor of Rajasthan. During all these years no government agency ever issued any notice to her in individual capacity. These are facts that can be easily verified as is the fact that the money collected by for the Tsunami relief fund was duly deposited with the Collector of Jalgaon.

These facts notwithstanding, the BJP thrived on selective misinformation about the RBI norms and Pratibha Patil's bank. Bordering on perversion, the BJP made Pratibha Patil accountable for every action of her relatives.

What is baffling is that these developments took place when it was becoming clear that not only was Pratbha Patil emerging a clear winner, the BJP was losing steam as more and more NDA partners were abandoning its bandwagon. The question, therefore, arises as to what made continue with a campaign that has hit the nadir of political behavior? Its desperation to have Shekhawat in the Rashtrapati Bhawan can be appreciated but not the fact that it has today launched such a vicious attack against Patil that tomorrow it would not be possible for Advani and company to walk up to her as President and express their genuine concerns. It would be uncharitable to suggest that infighting within the BJP is so intense that someone in charge of formulating strategy has sabotaged the current party leadership by launching on a course of self destruction. Nevertheless, the BJP would do itself tons of good by introspecting and analyzing the damage that its campaign might have done to the highest constitutional office in the country. It would be even more uncharitable to suggest that there is a method in the madness of BJP and that it was well planned move to denigrate the high office so that once again a debate is raised regarding the need to have a presidential form of government.

As a post script the BJP needs to be reminded that when Indira Gandhi had chosen Giani Zail Singh as the Congress candidate for Presidency he too was the object of much derision and vicious campaign. However, the very same Giani Zail Singh was hailed as the champion of liberties when he refused to give assent to a bill that sought to curtail that freedom. The BJP leaders were in the front rank of those singing songs in praise of late Giani Zail Singh.

Saving water for saving the world