COVER STORY

'BJP confronting divided loyalties'

S. Jaipal Reddy, who was the principal spokesman of the United Front during its tenure in government at the Centre, is a vigilant member of the Opposition. During his brief stint as Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, he pushed through the administrative changes that gave effect to the long-forgotten bill on autonomy for the electronic media. Back in the more familiar role of an Opposition stalwart, he reflects today on the year-long tenure of the A.B. Vajpayee Government and the strategic options available to the Opposition. Excerpts from the interview he gave Sukumar Muralidharan:

The Vajpayee Government seemed for a large part of the year gone by to be tottering, particularly after the Assembly elections in some States in November 1998. But it claims to have stabilised the situation and provided a new sense of purpose to its administration. Now the Opposition is posing a more unified challenge on a variety of issues. Does this suggest a phase of sharpening conflict?

The BJP-led coalition has survived for one year because of the grace shown by the Congress(I). It was well within the power of the Congress(I) to destabilise the BJP Government. Perhaps the Congress(I) wanted the BJP's administrative and political incompetence to be exposed over a longer period. That purpose may well have been served now.

But on economic policies there seems to be a divergence of views among the Opposition parties, with the Congress(I) going along with the Government on the Patents Bill and most likely on the Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill.

That divergence (of opinion) will continue to be there, but the main issue confronting the country is the threat posed by the Sangh Parivar to the secular fabric of the polity. Both the Congress(I) and other secular parties in the Opposition are realising the overriding importance of this issue.

The BJP itself seems to be divided on its economic policy between the swadeshi and the pro-liberalisation wings.

The general perception is that (Atal Behari) Vajpayee turned out to be a weak Prime Minister because of the trouble caused by his party's allies. But I think more trouble came from the sister organisations of the Sangh Parivar and from (Home Minister L.K.) Advani, than from his mercurial allies. On the economic agenda, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar are divided. In the late 1970s the erstwhile Janata Party faced the question of dual membership. It is interesting to note that the BJP is today squarely confronting the problem of not only dual but multiple membership - divided loyalties. Whatever is reflected in the Sangh Parivar is also reflected within the BJP. Vajpayee has been pursuing the liberalisation agenda because he wants to be on the right side of the upper middle class and the superpower of the world. So he is having his way right now.

The construction that the BJP has been putting on current events is that the three Bs - Bihar, bus (to Lahore) and Budget - have been a great source of sustenance for it and the new Opposition offensive is only a sign of desperation.

Bihar was a fiasco. I do not think anybody in the BJP wants to remember Bihar. It is a classic example of the mala fide intentions of the BJP and its incapacity to adopt a viable strategic course in politics. But talking of Bs, what about (M.K.) Bezboruah, the former chief of the Enforcement Directorate, who was transferred, recalled and then transferred again? What about their budget rollbacks? What about (Governor Sundar Singh) Bhandari? Broadcasting? They are going against the broadcasting policy outlined in the BJP manifesto and in the National Agenda for Governance.

Speaking of Bs, there is also the issue of Admiral Bhagwat.

S. MAHINSHA

True, the Government has not been able to convince the country about the reasons for his dismissal. It has not been able to convince the retired Service chiefs about this unprecedented decision. That is another example of the monumental ineptitude of the BJP-led Government. They described a serving navy chief as a security risk. And Admiral Bhagwat in turn has levelled many allegations against the Government, which they have been unable to explain. Why should the Government be afraid of an inquiry by a Joint Parliamentary Committee? The more it resists the demand for a JPC inquiry, the more it gives the impression that it has a lot to hide.

Is the Mohan Guruswamy controversy still live?

Mohan Guruswamy has levelled many allegations, not one of which has been satisfactorily dealt with. In the Lok Sabha the matter was partly discussed. It is now spilling over into the second part of the session. It continues to hang fire.

The BJP had two claims to political eminence when it sought to assume office - its special attention to national security and to probity in public life. How do you see these two planks now?

The retired military personnel who were drawn to the BJP before it came to power have been greatly disappointed by the Government's handling of l'affaire Vishnu Bhagwat. The Achilles' heel of the Vajpayee Government is its administration. Advani himself admitted a few months ago that it had been unable to fulfil the expectations because of lack of experience.

How do you now see the emerging pattern of political engagement? Will it be the BJP versus the Congress(I) with the Third Force being an appendage of the Congress(I) or will the Third Force seek an autonomous space?

The Third Force will remain autonomous. The fact remains that the Congress(I) is not a relevant factor in four large States - U.P., Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal - which together account for about 220 Lok Sabha seats. There is no way that any single party can come to power within the framework of the 12th Lok Sabha or through a fresh round of elections. I am not contending that coalitions will be there for ever. But the country is passing through a fairly protracted coalition phase. It will be strategically correct for everybody to reconcile himself or herself to this ground reality.