BEWARE OF FANS
Panchjanya praises Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having won the hearts of people of Indian origin during his recent three-nation tour, but cautions the PM and the ruling party against those who have recently become their fans. About the trip, it says, “It’s not just about the uranium yellow cake, or hugging Tony Abbot either… it’s about putting issues across in the right manner and winning hearts…” Panchjanya says PMs before Modi had the same opportunities, but could not utilise them.
However, the editorial says it’s a challenging time for both the BJP and the PM. These challenges are within: “Long kurtas and wide smiles have suddenly become common in places where usually people used to be seen working silently,” reads a curious observation, apparently referring to political aspirants. The editorial warns that people using words like “Moditva, Modimay and Modified” suddenly appear to be thinking about the nation. It cautions the PM and party: “if you give way to sugar-coating, ants are bound to follow” and advises the BJP not to fall for the “freshly sprouted” fans of the “rock star”.
View from the right
ADVICE FOR CONGRESS
The Congress, which celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, would have paid a real tribute to his legacy had it invited BJP leaders to its programme because Nehru “always spoke of respecting the opposition voices”, says the editorial in the Organiser: “As the first PM of the independent nation, Nehru is just not a name but a legacy. The real issue is not whether Modi was invited or not but why [the] Congress decided to organise this conclave at the last moment, that also while inviting all political leaders, even from foreign lands, except the NDA and gave a crying call in the name of ‘secularism’…”
Claiming that the conference on Nehru was an “afterthought”, the editorial says the Modi government had announced linking the birth anniversaries of former PMs to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. As the government’s move to link Gandhi and Sardar Patel with its programmes ensured a participatory approach, the Congress seemed to have panicked, fearing the loss of Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Hence the conclave.
Criticising the Congress president’s speech that secularism was established as a necessity by Nehru, the Organiser says she had forgotten that “many years even before the Britishers or Muslims came here, many faiths flourished… and were assimilated and respected in this land. Jews and Parsis are glaring examples of this tradition… Indians respect all ways of worship because of its Hindu ethos. The problem is [the] Congress’s version of vote-bank secularism that denied [the] very foundation of Indianness.”
STABLE JHARKHAND
The Organiser cover story, “Call for a clear verdict”, says that Jharkhand has withered away because of political instability, for which it blames the two national parties: the BJP and the Congress. Pointing out that corruption and instability are the outcome of the absence of sub-nationalism, the article says the 2014 state assembly election has given the state an opportunity. It appears people are distraught with all political experiments since November 15, 2000 and, hopefully, this time, Jharkhand will deliver decisive a mandate for a stable government. The BJP, riding high on its euphoric victories in Maharashtra and Haryana, can turn the tide in its favour by talking about the politics of performance, development and transparency to inspire confidence in Jharkhand’s voters.
Compiled by Liz Mathew
