HVK Archives: BJP's progress report
BJP's progress report - The Daily
M.V. Kamath
()
September 15, 1998
Title: BJP's progress report
Author: M.V. Kamath
Publication: The Daily
Date: September 15, 1998
For a party which has been under siege for a hundred and fifty
days, the Bharatiya Janata Party has done extraordinary well and
is entitled to deep respect and the thanks of a grateful public.
Its very first act -- to sanction nuclear tests - was a
courageous one for which the nation cannot be sufficiently
grateful to it. For over a quarter century successive governments
exhibited a mortal fear of offending American susceptibilities.
The BJP, in a manner of speaking, took the bully by the horns,
daring the United States and its unning dogs (the phrase was
originally used by Maoist China) to do their worst. They have
done exactly that, but India has shown that it can stand up to
blackmail and blandishments. It will survive. Importantly, it has
told the white, racist P-5 powers that it does not intend to be
second class state. These powers have no sense of shame. They
have largely ignored the fact that one of them, the United States
owes over $1.5 billion to the United Nations. In the normal
course of events, the United States should have been expelled
>from UN membership. Instead, it has been allowed to have a say in
the deliberations of the Security Council which, supinely, has
accepted US lead to make charges against India. Such is
international morality.
But the BJP-led government achieved an even greater victory right
at home when it helped resolved an over 100-year-old dispute over
the sharing of an Cauvery waters. Four states government were
involved, in none of which there was a BJP government. In Tamil
Nadu it is the DMK government that rules the roost. In Karnataka
it is the Janata Dal. In Kerala, it is Left Front that heads the
administration and yet, all these three, with the concurrence of
Pondicherry where another non-BJP government is in power, came to
a happy understanding under the leadership of Atal Behari
Vajpayee, the BJP prime minister.
If this is not a tribute to the statesmanship of the BJP prime
minister, what else statesmanship, Consider what the different
chief ministers said, especially those of Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka, the main protagonists, M Karunanidhi hailed the Delhi
agreement as victory for the people of both states and
publicly thanked Vajpayee and Jaswant Singh for the outcome of
the talks which he described as a major breakthrough.
Karnataka's J H Patel expressed happiness - no less - at the
agreement and said he was happy the Centre could evolve a scheme
nanimously=94.
The Bangalore-based Deccan Herald called the agreement major
and historic achievement. One of the sternest critics of the
BJP, NC Gundu Rao, writing again in the Deccan Herald said that
othing can be more heartening than the fact that Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu, the principal claimants for the river water, have now
accomplished what hitherto looked like an impossible feat by
allowing a spirit of compromise and goodwill to prevail over
mutual distrust and suspicion.
Another BJP-baiting paper, The Hindu, said editorially that the
broad agreement s commendable for the sense of realism the
disputant states, particularly Karnataka, have shown in resolving
a conflict that prolonged needlessly for seven years.
Seven years? The genesis of the Cauvery strife can be traced to
March 1807 when the British Resident in Mysore, after
investigations, rejected the complaint of the then Madras
government that the tank restoration works taken up by Mysore
administration had caused injury to the irrigation interests of
Thanjavur delta farmers. An agreement of sorts had been arrived
at in 1924 which ended in 1974 and since then there have been
thirty rounds of talks that came to nothing.
Not one of the prime ministers during that period, not the all-
powerful Indira Gandhi, nor her Congress and united Front
successors could move the disputants one inch closer to a
settlement. It was left to the BJP's Vajpayee to work a miracle.
The Hindu editorial was entitled welcome agreement. It must
have hurt The Hindu to praise the BJP even indirectly. Welcome it
is. It has been commended by Ramakrishna Hegde who, as chief
minister of Karnataka, has been aware of the nature of the
dispute. And elder statesman C Subramaniam who has served Tamil
Nadu had even greater praise.
In a letter to the prime minister, Subramaniam said he was
arlier of the opinion that perhaps politicians might not be
able to find a solution to the Cauvery dispute as it as
surcharged with emotions of the people of Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu. But, he added, a solution that has now been arrived at has
alsified his views. And who, pray, were responsible for
showing statesmanship? Two BJP leaders, Jaswant Sigh and Atal
Behari Vajpayee. And who are the critics of the four-state
agreement? Jayalalitha and senior partymen in Karnataka, led by H
K Patil. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Jayalalitha's record can only be described as anti-national and
despicable. The sooner the BJP asks her to quit the coalition,
the better for all concerned. Vajpayee in his Red Fort address
did say that it is not his way stick to his chair. hahe kitni
bhi appattiyan aaye, vardaan ke liye main jholi nahi failaoonga.
(Whatever be the difficulties, I will not beg before anyone to
remain in power) is what be said. The man has not been given a
day's peace. ive us a chance the BJP had said. Instead of
being given a chance, the BJP has had literally to go through
hell in the last one hundred and fifty days.
The Opposition has been the most irresponsible. In its hatred of
the BJP it has not realised what untold damage it has done to the
country by determinedly working towards instability. One of the
most irresponsible has been the Congress President Sonia Gandhi
closely followed by Chandra Shekhar. Sonia Gandhi is doing no
favour to the BJP by saying that she will not topple the BJP
government.
She is welcome to topple it. She will then have to face the
consequences of an incensed public. There is only one way to meet
the present situation and to deal with political blackmailers.
That is simply to amend the Constitution to the effect that the
single largest party - whichever it is - shall have the right to
rule for the full term. That will immediately bring coalition
partners to heel. Threats will disappear. And it will bring about
a sense of realism, common sense, purposefulness and compromise
among both the largest single party in power and its supporters
and detractors.
(The author is a former editor of The Illustrated Weekly of
India)
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