BJP’s handling of Karnataka absolutely opportunistic: Advani
13 May 2013 7:31 AM IST
With Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) losing its only government in the south, party leader L K Advani on Sunday said the Karnataka poll verdict has not come as a surprise to him and it serves as a lesson to both his party and Congress about not taking the common man for granted. Critical of the party’s handling of Karnataka affairs, Advani maintained it had been absolutely opportunistic and said BJP’s response to the crisis there was not at all a minor indiscretion.
‘I feel sorry that we have lost in Karnataka. But I am not surprised. The surprise would have been if we had won, I think the Karnataka results have a profound lesson for the BJP. In a way it has a lesson also for the Congress. The common lesson for both of us is : let’s not take the common man for granted,’ wrote Advani in his blog.
The BJP leader wondered that if corruption provoked indignation in Bangalore, why would it not cause the same feeling in New Delhi.
On the party’s handling of corruption during B S Yeddyurappa’s regime, Advani said had BJP taken immediate firm action, the course of events would have been quite different. ‘But for several months, frantic efforts went on somehow to keep placating him by condoning his peccadiloes,’ said Advani , adding that the justification given was that if the party did not adopt a ‘pragmatic’ approach it would lose its only government in the south. ‘Our response to the Karnataka crisis was not at all a minor indiscretion. I have consistently maintained that our handling of Karnataka has been absolutely opportunistic,’ said Advani.
The BJP leader also said BJP did not throw out Yeddyurappa but it was he who broke away to form his own party. ‘In fact, when it became apparent that he was unabashedly indulging in corruption, if the party had immediately taken firm action, the course of events would have been quite different,’ wrote Advani.
The veteran leader while referring to the reports of how Congress president Sonia Gandhi overlooked shortcomings in Virbhadra Singh and earned an advantage in Himachal Pradesh, but BJP took pride in taking a principled stand in Karnataka. ‘The consequence is that BJP has lost even the toehold it had acquired in the south,’ wrote Advani. The BJP leader said while instances can be cited when other parties get away with gross misdemeanours, the yardstick by which people judge BJP is not the same and they have high expectations from the party. Advani maintained that while the commonman may occasionally deviate from the norms of ethical conduct, he does feel extremely angry when he sees those at the helm of national affairs behaving immorally, ‘This is the principal reason why there is such intense allergy towards politicians generally nowadays,’ wrote Advani.
On the removal of Union Ministers – P K Bansal and Ashwani Kumar, Advani cited reports of Sonia Gandhi ‘sacking’ two ‘PM’s men’ and questioned if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had ‘abdicated’ his right to decide his own Cabinet. ‘Sheer self-respect demands that the PM calls it a day, and orders an early general election,’ said Advani.
‘I feel sorry that we have lost in Karnataka. But I am not surprised. The surprise would have been if we had won, I think the Karnataka results have a profound lesson for the BJP. In a way it has a lesson also for the Congress. The common lesson for both of us is : let’s not take the common man for granted,’ wrote Advani in his blog.
The BJP leader wondered that if corruption provoked indignation in Bangalore, why would it not cause the same feeling in New Delhi.
On the party’s handling of corruption during B S Yeddyurappa’s regime, Advani said had BJP taken immediate firm action, the course of events would have been quite different. ‘But for several months, frantic efforts went on somehow to keep placating him by condoning his peccadiloes,’ said Advani , adding that the justification given was that if the party did not adopt a ‘pragmatic’ approach it would lose its only government in the south. ‘Our response to the Karnataka crisis was not at all a minor indiscretion. I have consistently maintained that our handling of Karnataka has been absolutely opportunistic,’ said Advani.
The BJP leader also said BJP did not throw out Yeddyurappa but it was he who broke away to form his own party. ‘In fact, when it became apparent that he was unabashedly indulging in corruption, if the party had immediately taken firm action, the course of events would have been quite different,’ wrote Advani.
The veteran leader while referring to the reports of how Congress president Sonia Gandhi overlooked shortcomings in Virbhadra Singh and earned an advantage in Himachal Pradesh, but BJP took pride in taking a principled stand in Karnataka. ‘The consequence is that BJP has lost even the toehold it had acquired in the south,’ wrote Advani. The BJP leader said while instances can be cited when other parties get away with gross misdemeanours, the yardstick by which people judge BJP is not the same and they have high expectations from the party. Advani maintained that while the commonman may occasionally deviate from the norms of ethical conduct, he does feel extremely angry when he sees those at the helm of national affairs behaving immorally, ‘This is the principal reason why there is such intense allergy towards politicians generally nowadays,’ wrote Advani.
On the removal of Union Ministers – P K Bansal and Ashwani Kumar, Advani cited reports of Sonia Gandhi ‘sacking’ two ‘PM’s men’ and questioned if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had ‘abdicated’ his right to decide his own Cabinet. ‘Sheer self-respect demands that the PM calls it a day, and orders an early general election,’ said Advani.
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