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Journalism of Courage
One component of the BJP8217;s vaunted second tier of leadership, Sushma Swaraj, said something truly startling on Monday. She called the terrorist attacks in Ahmedabad and Bangalore 8220;a conspiracy to divert attention from the cash-for-votes scandal8221;. What is startling is how absurd this statement is on so many levels. After having said it 8212; and digging herself a deeper hole by adding that it was not 8220;off-the-cuff8221; 8212; Swaraj refused to elaborate. It is clear, however, that we are expected to believe that the fact that the capitals of two of the 10 NDA-ruled states were attacked is no coincidence, and that mainstream politics is somehow responsible.
This is a new low even for India8217;s political discourse. Swaraj often doesn8217;t think things through, her statement on the prospect of Sonia Gandhi becoming PM being a good example. But for one of the BJP8217;s most prominent leaders to actually say that the Central government is using terrorist activity for political gain is near-unbelievable, the sort of statement usually made only on crazed corners of the internet. It is not even politically useful: the universal revulsion, the stench of irresponsibility, hardly makes the party more electable and negates the positives from the Gujarat wing8217;s restraint after Ahmedabad. The Congress too is not short of absurdity. Digvijay Singh8217;s description of the timing of the blasts as 8220;uncanny8221; teeters on the brink.
