Opinion Leadership matters
Veiled references to L.K. Advani suggest the curtains may have come down for the patriarch.
While the cover story in the Organiser on Narendra Modis elevation as the BJPs prime ministerial candidate describes the move as the curtain-raiser for alternative leadership for the 2014 elections,the veiled references to L.K. Advani suggest the curtains may have come down for the patriarch. The story dismisses Advanis absence from the BJP parliamentary board meeting that declared Modis candidacy,saying,L.K. Advani did not attend the meeting due to certain personal reservations. Another article,however,admits his absence caused consternation,but nevertheless asserts that the bond between Advaniji,[the Sangh and BJP is inseparable.
An editorial deplores the secular-communal debate over Modis projection and refers to the mute and remote-controlled leadership of Manmohan Singh in contrast to the decisive,credible and dynamic leadership of Narendra Modi: Though there are attempts to nullify the Modi effect by invoking the secular-communal bandwagon,there is a need to put leadership issue in perspective, it says,adding that the forged notion of secularism has become a convenient cover-up for corruption and non-performance. There is a need to focus on leadership and governance issues for rejuvenating the India story.
STRING PULLERS
Both Sangh Parivar weeklies came down on Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan in the wake of a sting operation apparently suggesting that the local administration was pressured by Khan to delay action against the perpetrators of the initial violence. An editorial in the Organiser identifies Khan,the father-son duo of the ruling party,and Congress leaders as the string-pullers of the riots: Azam Khan,the main string-puller of the riots,has continued to be the parliamentary affairs and minority welfare minister in the UP government and guardian minister of the Muzaffarnagar district. He has been using his weight to keep appeasement as the core policy of the UP government… Congress leaders are the highest level of string-pullers because the topmost trio of the government,who did not have time to visit the Kishtwar victims in Jammu and Kashmir,paid a visit to the government-aided camps established for minorities,again fuelling sentiments
in Muzaffarnagar.
BANGLA CONFUSION
While the UPA tries to push the constitutional amendment bill to ratify the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh before elections there,the weeklies are cagey on the issue. An article in Panchjanya analyses the prospects of Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia in the elections and looks at the various issues involved. While Hasinas crackdown against the Jamaat is seen positively,the report stresses its implications for India and asserts that India is also an issue,to the extent that the electorate is keen to fathom the larger support to the government from the neighbour (India).
An Organiser report reminds readers that it was in 1976,that a pact was signed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Smt Indira Gandhi to sort out the problems regarding land sharing between the two countries… till date that [constitutional amendment has not been passed in the Indian Parliament. The successive governments of Bangladesh had been complaining on this count. Both reports focus on Indias importance to the neighbouring country.
Compiled by Ravish Tiwari
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