BJP wakes up to Bihar dissidence, Kalraj sent to fire-fight
The BJP central leadership, which allowed dissidence in its Bihar unit to fester for nearly a fortnight, finally spoke out against the rebels.
By TNN |
PATNA: The BJP central leadership, which allowed dissidence in its Bihar unit to fester for nearly a fortnight, finally spoke out against the rebels. Party leader Kalraj Mishra, who visited Patna on Thursday as the central unit���s representative, ruled out any change in the state leadership.
The state unit has been in the throes of a crisis after the recent reshuffle in the Nitish Kumar government. In the Cabinet rejig, several important ministers of the BJP lost plum portfolios, while two leaders Chandra Mohan Rai and J S Sigriwal were dropped. Those who lost out in the power sweep stakes have been blaming deputy chief minister Sushil Modi and state BJP president Radha Mohan Singh for the portfolio changes.
Mr Mishra, who was in Patna to hold talks with rebels, said the changes in the government were carried out with the central leadership���s consent. ���The reshuffle exercise and change of the departments of ministers by Nitish Kumar was done after consultation with the BJP central leadership,��� he said, adding no state leader should be blamed for it.
That it took a fortnight for the central leadership to step in and defuse tensions is a sorry comment on the functioning of the BJP brass. When Mr Sushil Modi was under attack from the rebels, there was no effort from the central leadership to shield its deputy chief minister or discipline the dissidents.
But this may not be the end of troubles for the BJP in Bihar. While the party is a divided lot, Mr Nitish Kumar is not giving it any elbow room for striking its own identity. Mr Kumar���s hold over the government was evident when even the deputy chief minister tendered his resignation to him just before the reshuffle.
The BJP���s ���party with a difference��� claim had taken a beating earlier this week in Maharashtra when a defiant Gopinath Munde threatened to quit the organisational post. One of the main grouse of Mr Munde was that he was not getting a free hand to run the BJP in the state. The central leadership had to give in to placate Mr Munde. Ally Shiv Sena on Thursday rubbed it in by stating that Mr Munde���s reinstatement as the BJP���s pre-eminent leader in the state has restored democracy in the party. He also said the BJP acted only because Mr Munde threatened to resign.
The state unit has been in the throes of a crisis after the recent reshuffle in the Nitish Kumar government. In the Cabinet rejig, several important ministers of the BJP lost plum portfolios, while two leaders Chandra Mohan Rai and J S Sigriwal were dropped. Those who lost out in the power sweep stakes have been blaming deputy chief minister Sushil Modi and state BJP president Radha Mohan Singh for the portfolio changes.
Mr Mishra, who was in Patna to hold talks with rebels, said the changes in the government were carried out with the central leadership���s consent. ���The reshuffle exercise and change of the departments of ministers by Nitish Kumar was done after consultation with the BJP central leadership,��� he said, adding no state leader should be blamed for it.
That it took a fortnight for the central leadership to step in and defuse tensions is a sorry comment on the functioning of the BJP brass. When Mr Sushil Modi was under attack from the rebels, there was no effort from the central leadership to shield its deputy chief minister or discipline the dissidents.
But this may not be the end of troubles for the BJP in Bihar. While the party is a divided lot, Mr Nitish Kumar is not giving it any elbow room for striking its own identity. Mr Kumar���s hold over the government was evident when even the deputy chief minister tendered his resignation to him just before the reshuffle.
The BJP���s ���party with a difference��� claim had taken a beating earlier this week in Maharashtra when a defiant Gopinath Munde threatened to quit the organisational post. One of the main grouse of Mr Munde was that he was not getting a free hand to run the BJP in the state. The central leadership had to give in to placate Mr Munde. Ally Shiv Sena on Thursday rubbed it in by stating that Mr Munde���s reinstatement as the BJP���s pre-eminent leader in the state has restored democracy in the party. He also said the BJP acted only because Mr Munde threatened to resign.
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