Running on empty

With the Indo-US nuclear deal entering the final lap, it would be interesting to second-guess the BJP8217;s take on it. Two years after it lost power at the Centre, the BJP has still to find a credible voice as the country8217;s main opposition party. This is unfortunate, not just for the party8217;s own future but for Indian democracy. Wise opposition parties make use of their time out of power to regroup, clarify their positions, and emerge stronger for their years in the cold. That is what the Republicans in the US did during the eight years of the Clinton presidency.

The BJP, in contrast, seems to have snatched the opportunity afforded by exile to stop thinking. Its positions on the crucial issues of the day appear poorly conceived and badly executed. But what is even more disappointing is the eagerness it displays to unburden itself of its own political legacy. The NDA government, lest it forgets, had initiated certain paradigm shifts in India8217;s domestic and foreign policy. But one never would have guessed that, going by the soundbites of its leaders today. A party that had considered dismantling the administrative price mechanism now gets Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the streets to protest what most would consider a valid fuel price increase. The party8217;s initial stance on value added tax VAT was regressive 8212; with its five state governments opting out of the VAT regime. Fortunately, over time, better sense prevailed on VAT. New legislation on patents 8212; which was almost a replica of the bill the NDA government had envisaged 8212; once again saw the BJP in freeze mode. The lack of coherence inherent in its responses to domestic issues, marks its statements on foreign policy concerns as well. A party that had first pursued more cordial ties with the US, now finds it expedient to flay the Manmohan Singh government for 8220;subservience8221; to the superpower. If the former external affairs minister found the historic Indo-US nuclear deal 8220;ill-assessed8221;, the former HRD minister warned that it would 8220;jeopardise8221; India8217;s self-reliance.

The problem for the BJP is that its postures appear churlish, lacking in credibility and obstructionist. An opposition party needs to conduct itself in a way that would convince people that it would be an improvement on the government of the day should it come to power. Going by that criterion, the BJP has clearly failed.