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BJP : Advani surrenders to the RSS, to continue as lame duck president

	June 13, 2005

The high drama of the BJP president L.K. Advani resigning as party chief has come to an end with the withdrawal of the resignation and an abject surrender to the RSS on his controversial remarks about Jinnah’s secular credentials. Advani agreed to the appeal from his party colleagues to continue as chief, but had to dump his thesis about Pakistan’s founder, Jinnah. He was isolated in the BJP on his views on Jinnah’s secular credentials and the party and the broader Sangh Parivar made it clear that his reappraisal of Jinnah did not have the party’s and the Sangh Parivar’s sanction.

Reports say that the settlement, which included withdrawal of Advani’s resignation as party president, was worked out after he conveyed to the Sangh leadership that he would quit the office of party president at the meeting of the BJP’s national council in December.

The statement issued at the end of the BJP Parliamentary Board’s meeting on Friday, June 10, 2005, made it clear that ideology came first in the BJP’s thinking and there would be no shift in the party’s stand over Pakistan or re-assessment of the role of its founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah in the events which led to India’s partition in 1947.

The statement which cleared the uncertainty that had crept into the party position following Advani’s Pakistan visit, said : “there can be no revisiting the realty that Jinnah led a communal agitation to achieve his goal of Pakistan which devoured thousands of innocent people in its wake and dispossessed millions of their homes and livelihoods.”

That Advani’s personal vision of Pakistan was in conflict with that of the party and could not be the BJP’s policy was clear from the strong language used against Jinnah, whom Advani praised as a secular leader in Karachi. “The BJP reiterates that whatever may have been Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan, the state that he founded is theocratic and non-secular, the very idea of Hindus and Muslims being two separate nations is repugnant to it. The BJP has always condemned the division of India on communal lines and continues to steadfastly reject the two-nation theory championed by Jinnah and endorsed by British colonialists.”

The statement tried to provide a context for Advani’s Jinnah statement. “Advani welcomed the event in Katasraj (foundation-stone laying ceremony of a Hindu temple) as a good beginning and in that context without describing Jinnah as secular reminded the people of Pakistan of its founder’s address to the country’s constituent assembly in which he had urged full freedom of faith for its citizens and no discrimination between its citizens on grounds of religion.”

The next paragraph of the statement which talks of ideology of the present-day Pakistan makes it clear that the recollection of the 1947 Jinnah was to provide relief to beleaguered Advani.



Remarks which created the furore

The Sangh Parivar and most leaders of the BJP were upset by Advani’s remarks during his recent Pakistan visit praising Jinnah as a great man and drawing attention to his socalled secular beliefs. In his speech after paying a solemn tribute to Mohammed Ali Jinnah at his mausoleum in Karachi, Advani described Jinnah as an “Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity” and referred to the spirit of secularism that drove the Muslim League leaders address to Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947. He elaborated his views later at a function organized by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, Economic Affairs and Law on June 5. He read out extracts from Jinnah’s speech in the constituent assembly to say that all the three countries of the sub-continent - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - should follow the ideals of a secular or non-theocratic state, where there is no place for intolerance and discrimination in the name of religion.



Adverse reactions from Sangh Parivar

Advani’s controversial remarks drew an immediate adverse reaction from the RSS, the parent body of the BJP, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and many BJP leaders. Advani was isolated in the party he heads, with virtually none of the generation-next leaders, whom he had built up, coming forward in his defence. The only leader of note not to attack him was former Prime Minister Vajpayee, but his statement was also lukewarm and ambiguous. The RSS demanded that Advani should withdraw his controversial remarks or at least issue a clarification. RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat conveyed the RSS view on Advani’s remarks to senior BJP leaders including Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley when they met him at the RSS office in Delhi. RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said, “Ideological questions are involved here and it is not possible for the Sangh to compromise on them.” The 90-minute meeting between the RSS and BJP leaders came after the BJP leadership held a day long conclave to discuss the controversy.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad attacked Advani and called him a “traitor” for his Jinnah remarks. Its general secretary Parveen Togadia said that the VHP condemned what he called “betrayal by Advani.” The VHP said that Advani is making these statements in the race to project himself as a “secular” leader. Togadia said that the VHP may float a separate party to fight for Hindutva if there are no amends from the BJP.

Many top ranking BJP leaders were critical of Advani’s remarks. Former Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, who is considered close to the RSS, said there could be no compromise on the BJP’s ideology and anyone who said anything contrary to that ideology risked walking a lonely path. Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh expressed the same view.

Both groups of the BJP in Gujarat condemned Advani’s remarks. The Narendra Modi group as well as the Keshubhai group said that they do not approve of the statement on Jinnah. Indications are that Advani who represents Gandhinagar constituency in the Lok Sabha will find the going difficult if he seeks re-election from the state in the next Lok Sabha elections.



Advani’s resignation

Advani’s response to the increasing storm over his remarks was to announce on Tuesday, June 7, that he is quitting as party president. It was announced that he had already drafted his letter of resignation during his Pakistan visit when he became aware of the adverse comments on his statements there. While on the surface, party leaders appealed to Advani to withdraw his resignation, hardly any support was forthcoming from any quarter for his remarks about Jinnah. A meeting of the party leaders passed a resolution rejecting the resignation and efforts started to make him pull back from the course he had decided upon. But it was clear during these goings-on that no leader in the party was willing to defend his controversial remarks. Party leaders met Advani with the request to withdraw his resignation. But he refused to yield although there were indications on Wednesday of mutual softening of positions. Advani promised to give his considered response to the party appeal on Thursday at a meeting of the Parliamentary Board. The meeting was later put off by a day reportedly because efforts were still continuing to work out a compromise resolution.



NDA allies stand by Advani

While only Vajpayee and Jaswant Singh, among the BJP leaders, supported Advani in his hour of crisis, the major BJP allies like the Janata Dal United and the Telugu Desam Party came out in favour of reassessment of Jinnah’s role as envisaged in Advani’s remarks during his visit to Pakistan.

Senior JDU leaders like Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes felt that Advani has not erred in any way by choosing to see Jinnah as a “secular” historical figure. They said that developments in the BJP could not be considered an in-house affair and that there were implications for the NDA. JDU sources pointed out that the rhetoric may well be driven by the party’s pre-occupation with Bihar, where elections are expected to be held later this year. By appearing to hit out at Sangh Parivar hardliners, the party may hope to keep the Hindutva notes muted in a state where Muslims had actually deserted Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD in some significant numbers in the February polls.

“The views expressed by the allied institutions of BJP and some leaders are against the basics on which the NDA was formed. They reflect only their narrow mindedness,” JDU secretary general K.C. Tyagi said in a statement.

Backing Advani’s statement that Jinnah was a secular leader, NDA convener George Fernandes on Tuesday urged the BJP leader to reconsider his decision to quit in the “larger interests” of the country. Another senior JDU leader, Sharad Yadav backed his controversial statements in Pakistan about Jinnah, saying these were based on historical facts and aimed at strengthening Indo-Pak ties.



UPA reaction

The Congress attacked Advani’s praise for Jinnah as a secular leader saying that he appeared to be wanting “Jinnah’s brand of secularism” that advocated the two-nation theory which the Congress had always opposed. Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said : “For Advani, as for Jinnah, as indeed for Veer Savarkar, secular can mean a two-nation theory.”

Lok Janshakti Party president Rambilas Paswan backed Advani and asked him to ignore the RSS and VHP criticism. He said : “LJP extends full support to Advani on his remarks on Jinnah as it is based on historical facts. Advani must be firm on his stand and work for secularism, ignoring the RSS and VHP which have unnecessarily raised a hue and cry. If people like Advani remain firm, Lalu will be nowhere.”

The CPI(M) said it does not believe Advani branding Jinnah secular would herald a paradigm shift of BJP into a “more liberal frame. The reason, BJP is the political arm of RSS and would remain only that.

In an editorial in the coming issue of party organ People’s Democracy, CPI(M) said : “The crisis in BJP and the entire saffron brigade has intensified to a point of culmination.”

CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan echoed similar sentiments. “It is clear that BJP would continue with its policies irrespective of whether Advani stays or goes. The party is in disarray and the present blow has deepened it by striking at its very ideology.” He also did not buy the secular image of Advani. “Nothing has changed as far as the BJP is concerned. That is why they are glossing over any debate on the subject.” he said.

The Telugu Desam Party welcomed Advani’s remarks on Jinnah. Party president Chandrababu Naidu said : “Though Advani’s resignation is an internal matter of BJP, his statements in Pakistan on Jinnah should be welcomed by all. The country has to accept that.” While talking to reporters in Hyderabad, Naidu said he endorses Advani’s description of Jinnah as a “secular leader.”



Withdrawal of resignation : Terms of surrender

The statement issued by the BJP parliamentary board after its meeting on Friday, June 10, which was also attended by central office bearers, Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states, makes it clear that the party rejected decisively Advani’s Jinnah line. The statement which was adopted unanimously indicates that the BJP chief surrendered tamely to the party’s official view point holding Jinnah and his two-nation theory responsible for the Partition. That the RSS had its way was clear from its reaction. Sources in the RSS said that the organisation’s primary concern was not whether Advani continued as BJP president after his Jinnah reassessment but whether an individual thinking on so fundamental an issue was transformed into the party line. The RSS took pains to clarify that the latest turn of events in the BJP was an internal matter of the party and that the RSS has nothing to do with it. But observers say that the RSS message is clear that the BJP must follow its line on crucial issues.



Advani’s authority dented

While Advani will continue as BJP president for the next few months, the latest developments will lead to his losing the required authority to deal with organizational problems, observers say. The party may also have cause for worry on account of the loss of moral authority of the leader to deal with inner party as well as intra-sangh parivar conflicts. Advani’s image of a votary of Hindutva gave him the authority to deal with him dissenting members of the party and the Sangh Parivar, but with the Jinnah episode eroding his authority, he will find it difficult to deal with such elements.

Another significant factor which has come up is that the second line leadership is no longer prepared to just accept whatever the top leaders say. After the contents of his speeches in Karachi became public, the second rung leadership conveyed to him that this was not acceptable. The coming few months may be marked by a tussle among the generation-next leaders to come to the top.

The NDA allies, which had supported Advani on his remarks on Jinnah, have also cause for worry. They had tried to give a modicum of respectability to Advani’s views to retain his position in the BJP. These leaders who are desperate to reach out to the Muslim vote bank by projecting Advani as the “neo-liberal” had become his chief campaigners in the past week. Incidentally, Kumar and Naidu never considered Advani’s political profile of any utility to their political agenda in the past.

Such was the blind opening that Fernandes, Kumar and Naidu saw in repackaging Advani before the Muslim populace that they competed with each other in flaunting their support for the neo-liberal messiah as if Indian Muslims were the vote bank of Jinnah.

As Advani abandoned his secular Jinnah, Fernandes, Kumar and Naidu, and also their erstwhile Third front partners - Rambilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad Yadav were left in suspended animation holding on to the cross of an abandoned Jinnah. Lalu Yadav can be expected to hit out at Advani for showing his back on Jinnah.