Hawks may flutter but Vajpayee shows he’s no lonesome dove

Ignoring the directive from the RSS to return to Hindutva and the vituperative attacks from the VHP against him personally, Vajpayee made it clear that his pre-election efforts to project a ‘‘moderate’’ and Muslim-friendly face would continue even out of power.

That he chose to host the Iftar, organised by Shahnawaz Hussain who was recently reprimanded by the party chief for indiscipline, a day after the Kanchi Shankaracharya was arrested was particularly significant.

In fact, one reporter aggressively asked Vajpayee why he was “celebrating” when a Hindu seer had been humiliated. The former PM did not deign to reply to the question but it is bound to be raised by hotheads in the Sangh Parivar in the days to come. The evening was not just a gesture to the minorities; it was equally a signal to NDA allies that the BJP would not entirely abandon the Vajpayee path in search of its “core constituency.”

While BJP leaders such as L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were conspicuous by their absence, NDA allies such as Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav turned up for the occasion. The JD(U) duo’s presence was particularly notable because they are known to have major misgivings about continuing an alliance with the BJP if the party returns to Hindutva.

With the NDA meeting to discuss the issue being held on November 15, today’s Iftar could not have been more timely to assuage their fears.

It was not just NDA partners who turned up. Congress leaders including Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, National Conference’s Farooq and Omar Abdullah, and the Samajwadi Party’s Amar Singh also graced the Iftar—underlining that Vajpayee still has the capacity to draw people from all parties despite the climate of acrimony that has marked the political discourse since the UPA government came into being.

Bonhomie and goodwill towards wary allies and critical adversaries may have been the flavour of the evening, but Vajpayee also made it clear that when it came to inner-party indiscipline, he largely endorsed the leadership’s decision to impose discipline.

On Bharati’s lament that a daughter was thrown out of her home on Dhanteras, Vajpayee—with gentle sarcasm—said: ‘‘Unhone dilon ko chhune ki koshish ki par woh yah baat bhool gayin ki programme daftar mein tha, ghar mein nahin’’ (She tried to tug at the hearstrings but forgot that the programme took place in the office, not at home.)

Besides, he added, she had walked out herself, not been thrown out—referring to the manner in which she had stormed out of the BJP office and challenged the party to take disciplinary action against her.

And yet he also made it clear that the doors of the party was not permanently closed for her. Were efforts on to solve the issue? ‘‘Samajhne aur samjhane ka kaam to chalta rahta hai,’’ (To understand and to be understood is a continuous process), he replied. And was he hopeful that Uma would return to the fold? Yes, he said, without actually saying it. ‘‘Ummeed par duniya kayam hai,’’ (The world rests on hope), was Vajpayee’s philosophical response.

He had already spoken to the Union Home Minister in the morning asking the Government to ensure the safety and security of the Kanchi Shankaracharya. To reporters’ queries, he said the manner of the arrest had “shocked” and “hurt” people in the country.