Jaswant’s Controversy and Intellectual Hypocrisy of BJP
The controversy over the book of Jaswant Singh has exposed the hollowness of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party has always tried to project itself as a party of intellectuals. But the fallout of the controversy shows that it was never a party with any ideology. It further proves that in the guise of so-called intellectual activity, the party has always tried to serve the interests of its few selected leaders.
The party has stopped talking about Deendayal Upadhya. It does not talk about RSS. Rather, it talks about Sardar Patel, a Congress leader, who had even banned RSS and dubbed RSS as the breeding center of divisive and communal forces in the country.
When exposed on this ground, now the BJP and its so-called Iron Man L K Advani are out to defame Sardar to prove themselves right. They say that the RSS ban decision of Sardar Patel was pressured by Nehru. It is an excellent example of intellectual hypocrisy of the BJP.
I was shocked to read the statement of L K Advani that Sardar had banned the RSS under pressure from Nehruji. Sardar is known as the Iron Man for his qualities. He was bold in his visions and actions. Such a statement about Sardar is just an insult to the great man of India for cheap publicity by Advani. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has banned a book on Jinnah because it painted Sardar in a bad light. But the truth is otherwise. Modi banned it as a stunt to show his love for Sardar. BJP leader and great journalist Arun Shourie, who has come out against this intellectual hypocrisy of the party, has clearly said that Modi is insecure in his position, and he initiated the ouster of Jaswant Singh because he would have a poor show in the September 10 by-elections in Gujarat if no action was taken.
And this is precisely what is behind the ban on the book of Jaswant Singh in Gujarat. If really Narendra Modi is so concerned about Sardar, he should ban Advani from entering Gujarat and seek his public apology for his statement that Sardar had banned RSS under pressure from Nehruji. Banning the book is yet another intellectual gimmick Modi has played to save his skin in the battle for his existence in Gujarat.
Sardar had no love lost for the RSS as claimed by the BJP. The BJP sacked Jashwant Singh because of his book on Jinnah. Now, Advani was the first BJP neta who went and bowed to Jinnah’s kabar. He was made the prime ministerial candidate by the party. And Jashwant Singh was sacked. Of course, it is their party’s internal matter, but isn’t it surprising that the BJP then officially announced that Jashwant Singh has been sacked because what he has written is against the core ideology of the BJP.
Regarding the ban on the book on Sardar, the BJP should ban the book in all the states where it rules instead of Gujarat alone. What Narendra Modi has done, why is Shivraj Chauhan not doing in Madhya Pradesh, Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh, Yeddyurappa in Karnataka, and Prem Kumar Dhumal in Himachal Pradesh? Why is there no consistency in BJP’s actions?