Journalism of Courage
ATAL Bihari Vajpayees long pauses and generous sprinkling of poetry,L K Advanis slow assertion of his point and occasional recitation of poetry seemed to have given way to the oratorical skills of the new leaders who spoke fast,almost impatient to convey what they had to say,at the BJPs three-day national executive-cum-council meet here. What was on display was new party president Nitin Gadkari singing songs on the first day,with MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too chipping in with a song.
Although the two stalwarts did get their due in posters and hoardings,they were referred to mostly in the past tense elsewhere. The exhibitions at the venue had good schemes implemented in the BJP-ruled states rather than old photographs.
The generational shift in the party was quite obvious,and Advani,who spoke only once in public but rarely drew applause in his long speech,admitted this. He said Gadkari belonged to the second generation and his team might have representation from the third,or even the fourth generation.
For a party raring to take on a resurgent and youthful Congress (to be led by its general secretary Rahul Gandhi in not too distant future),Gadkari used the three-day meet to bring a semblance of order in the BJP that appeared on the verge of implosion only a few weeks ago.
With the RSS firmly backing him,the new president gave an impression that he was in command. Holding the mike in his hand,he conducted proceedings like a moderator,setting deadlines for speakers and stopping them to make announcements. More than once first in his opening closed-door address,and later in public he warned that seniors have to perform. Havame baat na kare,chahe kitne bhi bade neta ho (dont talk in thin air,no matter how big the leader is), he said.
Tickets will not be given on likes and dislikes. Dont waste your time coming to New Delhi, Gadkari said,asking the cadres to refrain from touching feet of the seniors to show respect. The only exceptions are Advani and Vajpayee.
Stressing that the party would not be allowed to become a vehicle to fulfil individual leaders ambitions,the BJP president announced the partys future faces: Sushma Swaraj,Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi. After a spirited argument by Sushma Swaraj,Shivraj Singh Chouhan,too,was called a leader full of promise.
Normally speakers at such meets used to take up routine subjects but this time it was different, Advani said while referring to speakers like Anil Dave,a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh,who spoke on the Copenhagen conference by making a power-point presentation.
