BJP trains guns on govt
The BJP sought to turn the attention on ‘government failure’ as ally Shiv Sena joined Raj Thackeray’s ‘sons of the soil’ rhetoric, which gained momentum in Maharashtra.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The BJP sought to turn the attention on ���government failure��� as ally Shiv Sena joined Raj Thackeray���s ���sons of the soil��� rhetoric, which gained momentum in Maharashtra.
The party took the stand that it was government ���failure��� to ensure infrastructure that is commensurate to a growing urban population and prevent exodus of rural population that has created trouble.
When the violence broke out in Mumbai following Raj Thackeray���s comments on north Indians, the BJP had condemned the violent expression of parochial sentiments.
However, the party had steered clear of naming any political formation in its censure but instead asked the Maharashtra government to take prompt action.
With Shiv Sena���s Uddhav Thackeray expressing similar sentiments, the BJP had to go beyond its stand that such sentiments were against the Constitution and undermined the founding principles of the Jana Sangh and the BJP.
The Shiv Sena leader���s re-articulating a ���sons of the soil first��� position, has meant that the BJP has had to nuance its own reaction to the situation. So even as senior BJP leader and NDA���s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani termed the rhetoric and violence as ���unconstitutional���, he sought to draw attention to reasons why such sentiments were being echoed.
Mr Advani said, ���India is one country, the Constitution gives all Indians the right to travel to, settle down and take up jobs anywhere in the country. We can���t accept what is happening in Maharashtra. What is being said in Maharashtra by whichever political party is against the Constitution of India and undermines India���s unity. However, we need to see why this is happening. There is no development in the rural areas and people are flocking from villages to urban centres.���
So even as BJP condemns such nativist sentiments, it has sought to turn attention on the social and political realities that give rise to such sentiments and rhetoric. On the one-hand, there is the migration from rural areas to cities and on the other is the total lack of investment in infrastructure of cities like Mumbai, whose population has rapidly grown to 1.9 crore has meant that its urban structure is overstretched.
Mr Advani said that the problem of large-scale migration of people from villages to cities and towns has to be addressed by providing adequate employment opportunities in villages. It would appear that fifty-four per cent of Mumbai���s residents live in slums in largely sub-human conditions.
The party took the stand that it was government ���failure��� to ensure infrastructure that is commensurate to a growing urban population and prevent exodus of rural population that has created trouble.
When the violence broke out in Mumbai following Raj Thackeray���s comments on north Indians, the BJP had condemned the violent expression of parochial sentiments.
However, the party had steered clear of naming any political formation in its censure but instead asked the Maharashtra government to take prompt action.
With Shiv Sena���s Uddhav Thackeray expressing similar sentiments, the BJP had to go beyond its stand that such sentiments were against the Constitution and undermined the founding principles of the Jana Sangh and the BJP.
The Shiv Sena leader���s re-articulating a ���sons of the soil first��� position, has meant that the BJP has had to nuance its own reaction to the situation. So even as senior BJP leader and NDA���s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani termed the rhetoric and violence as ���unconstitutional���, he sought to draw attention to reasons why such sentiments were being echoed.
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Mr Advani said, ���India is one country, the Constitution gives all Indians the right to travel to, settle down and take up jobs anywhere in the country. We can���t accept what is happening in Maharashtra. What is being said in Maharashtra by whichever political party is against the Constitution of India and undermines India���s unity. However, we need to see why this is happening. There is no development in the rural areas and people are flocking from villages to urban centres.���
So even as BJP condemns such nativist sentiments, it has sought to turn attention on the social and political realities that give rise to such sentiments and rhetoric. On the one-hand, there is the migration from rural areas to cities and on the other is the total lack of investment in infrastructure of cities like Mumbai, whose population has rapidly grown to 1.9 crore has meant that its urban structure is overstretched.
Mr Advani said that the problem of large-scale migration of people from villages to cities and towns has to be addressed by providing adequate employment opportunities in villages. It would appear that fifty-four per cent of Mumbai���s residents live in slums in largely sub-human conditions.
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