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Journalism of Courage
The BJP8217;s Rajat Jayanti commemoration, despite its impressive hi-tech lotuses in various stages of bloom, was a graphic exposition of Murphy8217;s Law: if anything can go wrong, it will. Here was an organisation looking to its leaders to help it in its battle with chaos, but the man best qualified to do so 8212; Atal Bihari Vajpayee 8212; preferred instead to contribute to the muddle by introducing an healthy infusion of confusion to the proceedings. While lack of clarity may be an asset in poets; in political leaders, it is not.
Consider the BJP8217;s dilemma. It has, with some difficulty, finally zeroed in on the man who will succeed L.K. Advani as party president. Rajnath Singh may not be everybody8217;s idea of the perfect man for the job, and is certainly not the most charismatic of individuals, but having decided on him, it becomes incumbent on the party leadership to allow him the authority of his prospective office. A responsibility made even more urgent by the fact that the BJP8217;s second rung is somewhat overpopulated with candidates aspiring for the top job 8212; and the jostling for it has been an open secret for some time now. By naming Pramod Mahajan as the man best suited to play the role of Lakshman 8212; ie, the next leader of the party 8212; Vajpayee has not only complicated matters for the prospective president, he has also devalued the party8217;s decision-making process and exposed the sharp differences which have marked it. That the party chose not to comment on the remarks of its most important functionary is proof enough of the sourness of the apple it has been given.
