It sounds like a surprising surrender half-way ( almost literally ) in the election sweepstakes by the once-vaunted LK Advani, and more importantly, by the usually burgeoning with scathing over-confidence , BJP. First, their usually reticent and much-calibrated intellectual Arun Shourie makes a " private" disclosure---Narendra Modi for PM ( at an unidentified moment in the future). Then as if on a subtle nudge, the other Arun ( Jaitley) dutifully follows---Modi for PM. As the we-want-Modi chorus threatens to over-take BJP election propaganda, it manifests the party's rising discomfiture, if not simmering discontent with it's Prime Ministerial choice whatever the external facade shows on TV screens.
As I have frequently pointed out before, the BJP considers LK Advani like an old, tired horse best reserved for hill-station rides for unsuspecting tourists , not for winning the prestigious Derby--- for that they had rather have their "young" stud machine Modi instead. As the cola ad goes, the choice is clear. What is also evident is the virtual internal assessment of the BJP is that the 2009 race for Advani is practically over.
What Jaitley and Shourie are trying to frenetically muster up as a last ditch effort is to say -Vote BJP because it would be more a referendum for Modi than Advani. In the miraculous event that the NDA does make that magical 272 mark ( which is like expecting Mayawati to head Pepsi's corporate governance board tomorrow) rest assured, Modi will carry his Samsonite northwards. With a bullying Modi at the helm, all "secular forces" will choose to go conveniently blind and " developmental economics" ---which means inviting idiotic industrialists for saffron ice-cream will become the point of convergence. Established turncoats like Chandrababu Naidu, , Naveen Patnaik,( even Mr Farooq Abdullah had forgotten BJPs RSS link, remember? ) etc will conclude a mutually rewarding settlement with the untouchable party. To give the devil their due, the BJP can be credited for effective handling of coalition partners. Regrettably for BJP however, , none of the above seems remotely plausible and is at best coffee-table conversation reserved for a brunch at 360*. Truth be said, the BJP and LKA have realized the game is up. That's why the Modi plan for 2014 is already unfolding. Or earlier, in the event of mid-term elections, should Congress not get a sizeable single party aggregate.
So why the sudden mid-way catapulting of the frenzied challengers ? It has a lot to do with Advani's major sales spiel crafted by BJP ad-marketing professionals. "Leadership and decisiveness" are the two much touted slogans accompanying Advani's distant gaze as he looks philosophically into some captivating space . Unfortunately for him, those are the very two qualities on which Advani was found woefully short when India faced it's litmus test; Kandahar.
The Indian Airlines hijacking was not just about the 170 passengers taken as hostages; it was a decisive moment which tested India's national character itself. In a crisis, a country's leadership is not judged by empty rhetoric and patriotic mumbo-jumbo, but by the quality of it's response, and by it's sense of judgement. Advani was the Home Minister then , but instead of being the central trouble-shooter , he seems to have chosen to play a peripheral role, almost willfully. It is Advani's almost standard business-like approach to the Kandahar that has revealed his Achilles heel ; when confronted with a challenging conflict; he bungled, instead of being the commanding officer. He could not create consensus, nor prevail on what he thought was the judicious step to be taken. Worse, he seemed so sidelined he did not even know about Jaswant Singh's flight plans with the dreaded terrorists in them into Taliban territory ? It is so preposterous that I wonder if he thought being a Home Minister meant he had to handle HDFCs home loan targets instead of national security? By a noticeable coincidence , the traumatic hijack drama occupies only a few measly pages in his autobiography. I wonder why.
The fact that the Congress has relentlessly attacked Advani on Kandahar, and forced him to make further contradictions, amply confirms our worst apprehensions about him. It is thus quite puerile on the part of the BJP to appear lachrymose and deeply hurt by PM Manmohan Singh's retaliatory attack on being called "weak" by Advani. Is that the pot calling the kettle black?
True leaders know what it takes when they say, the buck stops here. For Mr Advani, at the time of Kandahar, the buck did not even pause there. I agree with the BJP spin-doctors; India does deserve better.
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Yes, lets not call any big-wig from BJP for this debate; a few of we readers are sufficient to make Mr. Jha look for cover (may be at 10 Janpath or the nearest congress party office). All his recent blogs have been so hollow and biased, i wonder why IBNLive is providing space for Mr. Jha! We would rather like to read blogs from people who think logically and rely more on content than English vocabulary. ...Reply
I profusely thank God you were not the Home Minister during the Kandahar Episode else India would have had a catastrophe during that horrid time
I fully support NDA government for whatever they did to safely secure the release of hostages.As far as Jaswanth Singh accompanying the terrorists is concerned let us look at it positively there had to be some senior responsible person to ensure safe release of the hostages who better than a Ex Army man and one of the senior most and well respected minister. More than he accompanying the terrorists to Kandahar I would like to think he brought back the hostages safely from Kandahar
If you are not aware that terrorist Masood Azhar was arrested by Army in 1994 during your Congress Government and was not even charged and hence there was no trial and hence no punishment was imposed.So who is to be blamed?
Don't forget few months before the hijacking India had won the Kargil War against Pakistan during NDA regime.Mr.Advani was the Home Minister during that time
What did we get during the last five years of your Congress rule?Blasts everywhere in the country and to top it all there was 26/11 during which nearly 200 people died at the hands of terrorists and the affable!! Prime Minister is trying take credit for the NSG action against terrorists.What was he doing when the terrorists sailed all the way from Pakistan to India without being intercepted?What preventive measures where taken to tackle the terrorists?
Now you can conclude on one side you have a Prime Minister during whose tenure 26/11 happened where in nearly 200 innocent people were killed including some of the bravest policemen this country has ever seen and on the other side you have a aspiring Prime Minister during whose earlier tenure as the Home Minister lives of 170 innocent people was saved.This clearly indicates and differentiates between a Strong character and a Weak character
Lastly I must say this is the most vicious election campaign ever ...Reply
I am puzzled by all the sensation the Kandahar hijack issue has raked up. If I were in the national government, then I would have acted in a similar manner. The passengers were not aboard some foreign airline, or the airline managed by the Taliban. They were aboard India's national airline, run and managed by the Government of India. If the militants had hijacked the plane, even from Nepal, then the passengers were under the care of the airline. Should the Indian commando's have stormed the plane in Kandhar, or Pakistan, or in India, or in Nepal? I agree, that the freeing of the militants led to the attack on the Indian Parliament, but the lives of our parliamentarians, in my view, are not more dear than the lives of our own citizens. Let us be fair. Even Dr Manmohan Singh would have come to a decision, after he had consulted his cabinet,if he had been Prime Minister then, and would we have been happy with his decision? The B J P had brought tough anti militant laws, but what different would the Congress have done, if faced with a Kandahar like situation? ...Reply
kandhar is not about advani.its about we indians especially indians like jha.remember nachiketa's mother talking to relatives of highjacked passengers.if you dont ,search in tv18 archives.
i distictly remember loads of indians rolling on streets before 7 racecourse road and pleading the government to get their relatives released.
that advani was not kept in the loop is a proof in itself that he was not with the majority view that passengers should be released.the decision to release the terrorist was obviously yajpayee's.it was vajpayee who wished for a peace prize.
strong or not advani is the most deserving candidate to become the PM.but then indians ,be it original gandhi or a sanjay jha, never chose the right ones remember NEHRU AND PATEL. ...Reply
hmm well sanjay jha . the anger in which it is unleashead brought a smile to me.totally hollow argument,and then your blog is just a expression being nano-secular. that is secularism of cheap elitist,cofee-day going and god delusion reading ppl who believes wats in a book is correct anything egalitarian is divine. "identifying and expressing ideas is a form of sadism" so never identify urself with both, be neutral and access. thats the real questioning . wat you are doing is nothing but airing your confusion and sharing ur speculation.
If at all you know the truth come out and show with proof that they acted in circumference than being at the center.Thats how arun shourie responds he comes with facts and never writes a meaningless blog. don't confuse ppl. if 170 would have died then hope ur argument would have been meanest of all.assume one among the 170 is ur dear one. will you dare to discuss two sides of the drama.its naive and to mask ur naiveness you are trying to misguide ppl with your mumbo-jumbo phrases and words.I am trying to show my hate here . being logical doesn't mean identifying with the most comfortable idea. it means being logical. so your write-up is neither logical nor emotional.It is just a reflection of your identification as secular. ...Reply
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