PANAJI, APRIL 2: Shaken by the near collapse of its Government yesterday, the BJP tried to buy peace with the AIADMK today by showering fulsome praise on its alliance partners on the opening day of its National Executive Meet.In sharp contrast to the muscle-flexing which preceded the Meet, party president Kushabhau Thakre was all sugar and honey in his references to the allies in his inaugural address. He went out of his way to thank all the partners, without any exceptions, for ``making our dream of good governance come true''.Glossing over the rumblings in the coalition, Thakre claimed, ``over the past 12 months, we have been able to establish a better understanding with our allies, strengthening the bonds of our umbrella alliance. The hiccups of the first year are behind us.''The abject tone of the inaugural session coloured the day's briefing too with spokesman K L Sharma repeating again that Power Minister R Kumaramangalam's controversial remarks about Jayalalitha were ``his personal views''. For good measure, Thakre also told correspondents that the Kumaramangalam controversy was ``a closed chapter''.The party was clearly worried by yesterday's ultimatum from Chennai. Coming in the wake of the new equation that seems to be emerging between the AIADMK and the Congress, the BJP feels there is a qualitative difference to Jaya's sabre-rattling this time. She could be serious and last evening, the party took a quick decision that it would do everything in its power to stop her from crossing over to the enemy camp.Sharma hinted at the anxiety rippling in the BJP when he took pains to emphasise that the Vajpayee Government faced no threat from Jayalalitha. ``I think that in view of the clarification offered by the Prime Minister and Kumaramangalam himself, Jayalalitha will not withdraw her support,'' he insisted.Thakre's address reached out to the allies at two levels. He generously praised them for their support, thereby underlining their importance in the Vajpayee Government. And he made common cause with them on an anti-Congress, anti-Left platform with a harsh attack on the Opposition. He said the Congress and ethics were ``as disparate as oil and water''. As for the Left parties, they ``have long said goodbye to ethics and morality''.But the real surprise of the day was the unabashed flattery he heaped on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. ``He has led from the front. He has demonstrated both vision and action,'' he gushed, adding that Vajpayee's leadership was one of the three factors that contributed to the Government's first successful year in office.After the unseemly power struggle between the Government and the Sangh Parivar during the winter session of Parliament, Thakre's words must have been music to Vajpayee's ears.There was more. ``With the RSS and the party firmly behind him, he can now hope to take on the Congress in a better manner,'' Thakre stated. It was an admission of the Sangh's decision that the Government must be saved at any cost to keep the Congress out of power.Thakre also praised Vajpayee for displaying ``audacious statesmanship'' by taking the historic bus trip to Lahore.
