Opinion Lead role
The lead news item in the latest issue of RSS mouthpiece Organiser titled A change of guard in BJP.....
The lead news item in the latest issue of RSS mouthpiece Organiser titled A change of guard in BJP Nitin Gadkari,an organisation man,committed to ideology,is the new BJP chief, says: Ever since Nitin Gadkaris name was doing the rounds for Bharatiya Janata Partys national presidents post,the question that was continuously raised was: Will he be able to bring the derailed BJP back on the rails? Nitin Jairam Gadkari,52,becoming the national president of BJP is not a routine thing. The change took place at a time when the party with a difference has found itself in disarray. The media,ready to find loopholes in the party,got ample chances to project a negative image of the BJP in the pubic. The morale of the party workers was low. That is when the RSS advised caution. RSS sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat on a number of occasions voiced his concern over the infighting in the BJP and underlined the need for a change in the leadership. Although he did not project any name,the choice ultimately fell on the young leader from Nagpur .
The news item adds: The BJP has been harping on commitments like Ramjanmabhoomi,Article 370,Common Civil Code,and Swadeshi these years. But with the party taking lead in forming the National Democratic Alliance (NDA),they were put on the hold. This was in a way responsible for waning popularity of the party to a great extent. Many of its staunch supporters,who came from the RSS,felt disappointed and disillusioned and remained silent during the elections. Gadkari and his new team will have to take into consideration this reality and devise a strategy that could regain the faith of its followers,sympathizers and electorate who could feel assured about the partys ability to implement its agenda. Gadkari needs to put to use all his skills and abilities to give a new dimension,instill new energy and provide a new vision to the party to ensure success on all fronts.
Small is beautiful
In an opinion piece titled Are linguistic states getting out of fashion, M.V. Kamath writes in the latest issue of the RSS journal: A Pandoras Box has been opened and there are demands for the trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh,with the creation of Purvanchal,Harit Pradesh and Bundelkhand. The Bodos in Assam want Bodoland and there is talk of setting up Vidharbha (now part of Maharashtra),Bhojpur (comprising some areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) and a Mithilanchal (comprising districts of Northern Bihar) and a Greater Cooch Behar out of parts of West Bengal and Assam . The Coorgis in South India want a state of their own. It is mind-boggling. Interestingly enough,Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayavati swears that she fully supports trifurcation of her state on grounds that economic development of the new states would be easier and faster.
He adds: One may argue that there are enough sound reasons for the creation of smaller states. Were that concept to be taken to its logical conclusion,there should be no protests in advocating a unitary form of government implying dissolution of the states as they now are and making districts the base units of administration. Would that be a sound proposition? The time has come to do some serious re-thinking in the matter of reorganising states all over again,but this issue has to be tackled not on a piecemeal basis but on a macro-level,dispassionately and in a civilised manner and not through organised rioting. It may take months if not longer to arrive at a meaningful and largely acceptable solution but that calls for disciplined patience and forbearance. We have time on our side. The blackmailing tactics of Chandrasekhar Rao and the weak-kneed reaction of Home Minister P Chidambaram have messed up the situation creating wholly unnecessary problems that need to be addressed. One suspects that the era of linguistic division of the land has become outdated. What the people yearn for is economic progress and at a faster rate,in tune with growing aspirations. And this has to be dealt with wisely,reflecting the needs of changing times.
Compiled by Suman K. Jha
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