BJP woes are far from over still
With the Gurjars suspending their agitation in Rajasthan, the BJP leadership on Monday heaved a sigh of relief.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: With the Gurjars suspending their agitation in Rajasthan, the BJP leadership on Monday heaved a sigh of relief. There was a real possibility that the party’s national executive meeting, which has already seen a venue change from Jaipur to the national Capital, would have been deferred by a few days had the state continued to remain on the boil.
Even though a final decision on the issue, according to a senior BJP leader, will be taken at a meeting of party general secretaries here on Tuesday, it’s likely that the meeting will go ahead as per schedule here on June 15 and 16.
The agitation launched by the Gurjars to press for their recognition as a Scheduled Tribe, besides claiming the lives of several people and a disruption of normal life in Rajasthan and other parts of north India, has already cast a shadow on the national executive meeting. The meet is the first to be held after Mr Rajnath Singh’s re-election as party president and the Gurjar agitation is set to dominate the session.
The fate of chief minister, who’s already earned the ire of the Sangh and a section of her party colleagues because of ‘arrogance and imperious attitude’, has also got interlinked with the issue.
he’s now being blamed for her inaction on the issue even after violence erupted in various parts of eastern Rajasthan. The BJP bosses are now waiting for the raging fire to be brought under control before engaging themselves with the issue of leadership change in Rajasthan. The state faces assembly polls towards the end of next year, and the party is hamstrung with a strong anti-incumbency.
As the saffron managers grope for a solution to the knotty problem, on Sunday it sought to bring the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre into the frame. “In light of the situation we’re witnessing in various parts of the country, the time has come for the political class to set parameters for the classification of a social grouping as a caste or a tribe,” BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said in afternoon, adding, “It is for the Centre to take the initiative in this direction.’’
“It’s about time the representatives of various political parties sat together and held mutual consultations to fix the yardsticks for the description of a social grouping as a caste or a tribe,’’ the BJP spokesman said.
The BJP’s thinking was prompted by the realisation that it would have to pay a heavy price for promising something that was difficult to be carried out at the ground level. “It’s a catch-22 situation for us. If we succumb to the pressure being applied by the Gurjars and recommend the ST tag for them, we risk alienating the Meena, who are not only numerically more powerful but also have a larger political clout. If we refuse to buckle, the Gurjars will turn against us. This will not only be harmful for our power project in Rajasthan, but also in other north Indian states where Gurjars are present in significant numbers,” a BJP leader said.
Even though a final decision on the issue, according to a senior BJP leader, will be taken at a meeting of party general secretaries here on Tuesday, it’s likely that the meeting will go ahead as per schedule here on June 15 and 16.
The agitation launched by the Gurjars to press for their recognition as a Scheduled Tribe, besides claiming the lives of several people and a disruption of normal life in Rajasthan and other parts of north India, has already cast a shadow on the national executive meeting. The meet is the first to be held after Mr Rajnath Singh’s re-election as party president and the Gurjar agitation is set to dominate the session.
The fate of chief minister, who’s already earned the ire of the Sangh and a section of her party colleagues because of ‘arrogance and imperious attitude’, has also got interlinked with the issue.
he’s now being blamed for her inaction on the issue even after violence erupted in various parts of eastern Rajasthan. The BJP bosses are now waiting for the raging fire to be brought under control before engaging themselves with the issue of leadership change in Rajasthan. The state faces assembly polls towards the end of next year, and the party is hamstrung with a strong anti-incumbency.
As the saffron managers grope for a solution to the knotty problem, on Sunday it sought to bring the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre into the frame. “In light of the situation we’re witnessing in various parts of the country, the time has come for the political class to set parameters for the classification of a social grouping as a caste or a tribe,” BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said in afternoon, adding, “It is for the Centre to take the initiative in this direction.’’
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“It’s about time the representatives of various political parties sat together and held mutual consultations to fix the yardsticks for the description of a social grouping as a caste or a tribe,’’ the BJP spokesman said.
The BJP’s thinking was prompted by the realisation that it would have to pay a heavy price for promising something that was difficult to be carried out at the ground level. “It’s a catch-22 situation for us. If we succumb to the pressure being applied by the Gurjars and recommend the ST tag for them, we risk alienating the Meena, who are not only numerically more powerful but also have a larger political clout. If we refuse to buckle, the Gurjars will turn against us. This will not only be harmful for our power project in Rajasthan, but also in other north Indian states where Gurjars are present in significant numbers,” a BJP leader said.
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