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It is so nice to hear from Sitaram Kesri, none less, that H. D. Deve
Gowda is a communalist. What is surprising is that it has taken Kesri
ten long months to make that unsurprising discovery. It is evident that
others in the United Front government, especially the Leftist parties
are still in the dark about Kesri's antecedents. No doubt they will come
to know about Gowda's communalism in course of time. Nobody has ever
accused the Leftists of political wisdom. Mule-headedness, yes. Wisdom,
definitely no. But how do you fight communalism? By demanding Gowda's
head on a silver platter? Is that all there to fight communalism?
Nobody has yet quite figured out what communalism is. Obviously it does
not mean, as in the Shah Banoo case, the government succumbing to
Islamic fundamentalist forces. Oh no. That is being generous to a
minority community. It also does not mean, as in the case of a communist
government, conceding to Muslims a specially carved out district where
the Muslims can have a majority, as happened in Kerala. That is not
communalism, but showing magnanimity towards a minority. It does not
mean Mulayam Singh Yadav currying favour with the Muslims in the
Muslim-majority wards in Mumbai, to get his party nominees elected to
the Maharashtra Assembly. That is politics. So what is, communalism?
If we are to believe the CPM and the Congress, communalism is what the
BJP practises. It is as simple as that.
Self-serving is the word that richly applies to all non-BJP parties
which have been practising communalism on an every-day basis without
recognizing it for what it is. These parties have been deluding
themselves but the greater tragedy is that our intellectuals refuse to
see through this self-deception. In that sense they are party to the
crime. But luckily, the public has seen through this game. In the last
general elections the BJP won 162 seats to Parliament, the CPM got
hardly 32 and most of them in West Bengal where the party can terrorise
the poverty-stricken public into abject submission. And the CPI got 12.
And may it be remembered: these are the parties that vociferously
supported Jinnah's two-nation theory in 1946 and sided with China when
it attacked India in 1962. They should not be allowed to get away with
these facts. A large part of the electorate has seen through the
curtain of Goebellestic lies that the Leftists and their imitators in
the Janata Dal and the Congress have been spreading about the BJP Given
another chance, the electorate will vote the BJP solidly into power. The
non-BJP parties know it. And they are frightened.
Why did the BJP emerge as the single largest party in Parliament at the
last elections? Are the people fools? Are they all "communal"? Let no
one think that Hindu nationalism is the only reason why people voted for
the BJP. They voted for the BJP because, for one thing, it holds out
promise of a strong, clean and ideologically homogenous government. For
another they are sick and tired of the holier-than-thou attitude that
non-BJP parties have adopted all these months as a screen to hide their
own many inadequacies. And the inadequacies are there for all to see.
One of them is the casteism practised by one and all, but notably
Mulayam Singh Yadav and Laloo Prasad Yadav in their respective states.
Casteism is more invidious and wicked because it divides Hindu society
and pitches one caste against another. Casteism is more destructive for
the very reason that it is not seen as such. And it is suicidal. And
the great public has recognised it for what it is, at last. That will
explain the BJP success with the masses. The BJP is seen as a saviour of
Hindu society while the Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party are seen as
wreckers. The people also have come to learn about the corruption in the
Janata Dal. Fancy, having a corruption-tainted man like Laloo Prasad
Yadav as head of the Janata Dal! Who In his right mind, would vote, for
this party? Apart from the fodder seam, Laloo Prasad is now associated
with yet another seam that leaves one breathless. CBI sleuths who are
framing a charge sheet against Laloo Prasad have found out how the Bihar
Chief Minister, his family and his henchmen, and the main actors in the
fodder seam, have used slush funds for their frequent airtrips to Delhi.
The CBI came to know of this when one J. P. Verma and his son Rajesh
Verma revealed the truth on oath before senior officials of the Income
Tax Directorate. The intermediary between the Vermas and the Chief
Minister apparently was Shyam Behari Sinha, a Regional Director of the
Animal Husbandry Department, and a man close to Laloo Prasad Yadav. And
this is how the swindle took place: the Vermas would be asked to prepare
fake bills for amounts of less than Rs. 50,000 for medicines that were
never supplied. Between 1993 and 1995 the father and son were
apparently paid Rs 1.5 crore from the State Government treasury.
According to The Statesman (April 4) the Vermas had to hand over 80 per
cent of what they, received for fake bills to a close associate of
Sinha, one Mahendra Prasad, in three to five instalments. Prasad,
apparently was also in the business of sham supplies of medicines.
Of the Rs. 30 lakhs (which is 20 per cent of Rs. 1.5 crore) left with
the Vermas, Rs. 18 lakhs was; spent on air tickets alone. Reports The
Statesman: "The rest was invested in movable and immovable properties.
The immediate family members - including his wife and children - his
henchmen and Animal Husbandry Department officials..." What is
interesting is that when Rajesh Verma tried to clear his conscience by
actually trying to supply medicines against bills, he was ticked off and
told the government needed sham and not actual supplies. It is such a
man that heads the Janata Dal and has the nerve to charge the BJP with
"communalism", a charge that means nothing specific.
And may it be noted: Laloo Prasad is not the only man involved in seams.
Several members of the Congress are involved, too, though not perhaps
to the same extent as Laloo Prasad. Indeed, Sitaram Kesri himself has
been named in the JMM MPs' bribery seam and one theory is that knowledge
that he may be summoned for questioning on this matter was one reason
why Kesri decided to withdraw support to the United Front. Kesri's
hatred of Deve Gowda is apparently rooted in the belief that Gowda has
been using the CBI as a weapon to "selectively" target Congress leaders
to "ruin their reputation."
There is evidence enough that the Congress has been engaged in
activities that cannot easily be justified. For while the Income Tax
rules debar political parties from receiving foreign contributions,
on-going investigations have revealed that the Congress Party has
received funds to the tune of Rs. 3.5 crore from abroad between 1993 and
1995. When the assessments of four political parties were completed by
the Income Tax Department on March 311 the Congress was the only one
found to have received foreign donations. Sources revealed that in 1993
the Congress Party received three payments from Singapore totalling Rs.
1 crore. The payments had been made in tranches of Rs. 40 lakh and Rs.
30 lakh respectively. The contributions came from three Singapore-based
companies named Dominion Trading Corporation, Decor Trading Corporation
and Diera Trading Company. They were probably headed by the same person
considering that all three start with the initial 'D'. In 1994 the
Congress Party received a total amount of Rs. 2 crore from non-resident
Indian (NRI) donors in Jakarta,, Indonesia. In 1995, an amount of, Rs.
50 lakh was sent to the Congress by donors based in London who are yet
to be identified. Is this another example of laundered money?
The sum of Rs. 3.5 crore may be considered chicken feed in the context
of all the scams in Bihar and even of the Bofors seam, but the point is
one of morality. No one is going to weigh communalism against corruption
but those who profess lofty ideals must be above suspicion. Nobody has
been hurt by communalism, but when cases of corruption in Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar are revealed they indicate the extent to which state
treasuries have been looted left and right. And there has been no
apology or explanation.
What is amusing is that those who have been,, accusing the BJP of
"communalism" have no compunction in asking for BJP help. According to
the Economic Times Gowda has "informally opened channel of communication
with the BJP" through a journalist "who is known for his proximity to
both Gowda and. the BJP". Apparently the BJP becomes untouchable only
when one is ruling the nation but becomes eminently worthy of approach
when one is in dire trouble. So much for the secularism of our non-BJP
parties.
The hypocrisy of the non-BJP parties is matched only by their
corruption. But they hide their own shortcomings by accusing the BJP of
"communalism" which is a catch-all phrase of abuse, thereby absolving
themselves of all sins. Secularism is not about defending 'minority
interests, whatever that means, nor does it consist of banning books
considered offensive by them in total contravention of freedom of
expression. It is not enough to be 'secular', one has to be moral as
well. In any event, secularism means being blind to religion when taking
decisions, whether the decisions relate to the majority or minority
community.
The country has had enough of the non-BJP bogus politicians, which is
why they are scared of going back to the people. In any fresh elections
they know what fate awaits them. At least in this regard, they have no
illusions.
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