This refers to T N Ninan's column "Remembering the garib" (Weekend Ruminations, April 11). There has always been an unmistakable streak of bravado associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), imbibed from its right wing roots. As proponents of Hindutva, they wielded it to build up an enviable political podium today with a stand-alone majority, from just two seats in the 1984 general elections.
Caught in a pincer movement over the land Bill by a united opposition, it has gone ahead and re-promulgated it at the risk of alienating the farmer. Jousting with the judiciary over appointments, it has pressed ahead and taken a sideswipe at them over "perceptional judgements" and chosen to disregard the disillusionment of the discerning voter.
The BJP's natural bent may not allow it to dwell too long over the "inclusiveness" practiced by the Congress. But how does one explain its reluctance to riposte with its own distracting fringe elements - is it reluctance or helplessness? And now, perplexed at its coalition ally in Jammu & Kashmir on a daily basis, was the political move a grand strategy or daring into waters of unknown depth?
R Narayanan Ghaziabad
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