Of Goddamned, God Forsaken and Hindu God Ram
Sid Harth
BJP, RSS mislead me on Ayodhya: Kalyan
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Rashtriya Kranti Party chief
Kalyan Singh has alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh had misled him on demolition of the disputed
structure at Ayodhya.
"Both the BJP and the RSS misled me on the issue. I was given the
impression that there were no plans to demolish the disputed
structure," he told reporters after holding a meeting with a group of
prominent Muslim leaders in Aligarh on Monday.
The Ayodhya issue could be settled directly between leaders of the two
communities and if a compromise could not be reached the matter should
be left to the Supreme Court, Singh said.
Stating that he wanted to build bridges with the Muslim community,
which was alienated from him because of the Ayodhya issue, he said, "I
am ready to show the Muslims that there is a difference between me and
all others."
Singh said there was now a growing realisation among the deprived
classes, including Muslims and backward communities, that 'the BJP had
no place for them. If the Muslims are now ready to join hands with me,
then together we will bury the BJP on its home turf."
He scoffed at Chief Minister Rajnath Singh's claim of improving the law
and order situation <../oct/30up.htm> in the state saying within a
fortnight of his assuming charge, the state had witnessed the worst
communal riots in recent years in Azamgarh <06up.htm>.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh's reluctance to bring a no-
confidence motion against the BJP government had disillusioned a large
number of his traditional supporters, Singh added.
http://www.upportal.com/politics/pol_kalyan.shtml
Kalyan Singh
By : Dilip Awasthi
One of the slickest players of the Ram card for the BJP, former Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, is now sitting on the other side
of the fence. He left the BJP soon after he was replaced as the CM by
the high command on November 12, 1999. Kalyan Singh's second term as
the chief minister, which started on September 21, 1997 proved a fiasco
specially in the later half. The BSP withdrew its support October 10,
1997 but Kalyan Singh survived out of defections by 22 Congress rebels,
12 BSP rebels, 3 JD rebels, 3 BKKP rebels and formed the government.
He succumbed to constant blackmailing by coalition partners specially
the Loktantrik Congress, the Congress splinter group. In an attempt to
appease all, Kalyan Singh gifted portfolios to partymen and allies
alike, in the process, making his ministry among the largest in the
country. Shackled by such political constratints, Singh was no where
near his capabilities of governance exhibited during his first tenure
as CM during 1991-92. Added to this was his controversial relationship
with Lucknow's corporator Kusum Rai. In his second regime she emerged
as an extra-constitutional authority in the CM's office. Though in
several interviews both Kalyan Singh and Kusum Rai claimed that they
shared a father-daughter relationship, the political as well as the
public psyche believed otherwise.
The absolute majority status of his party during his first stint gave
him a free reign to implement law and order policies that established
the rule of law in the chaotic state. There were no communal riots
during his first tenure and the widespread menace of copying in exams
was curbed. He resigned from his post after taking responsibility for
the demolition of the Babri masjid in the state.
Born in a sleepy town in Atrauli in UP's Aligarh district, this
backward caste leader joined the high-caste Hindu-dominated RSS on the
eve of independence while in school and rose from the ranks under the
tutelage of disciplinarians such as Deendayal Upadhayaya and Nanaji
Deshmukh. Elected to the state legislature for the first time in 1967
from Atrauli, Singh has retained the constituency except in 1980. He
served as Leader of the Opposition in the UP Assembly in the late 80s.
Today, Singh has emerged as an important backward class leader having
the potential to make a dent in the dalit vote banks of the BSP and
Mulayam Singh Yadav's backward constituency.
Now trying to make a niche in backward politics in the state, Kalyan
Singh is just a sad reminder of his outstanding past.
http://www.frontlineonline.com/fl1627/16270120.htm
Desperate in Uttar Pradesh
In its efforts to contain the political damage in Uttar Pradesh
following Kalyan Singh's expulsion, the BJP overreaches itself on the
Ayodhya issue and finds itself entangled in a web of intrigues.
VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN
THE Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh has tied itself up in knots
over the Ayodhya issue. In its haste to neutralise the negative impact
of the expulsion of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh from the party,
the State party leadership, particularly the new Chief Minister, Ram
Prakash Gupta, has taken a series of steps, several of which are
certain to prove counter-productive in the State and at the national
level. Discussions currently under way at various levels in the State
BJP point to a growin g realisation that if Gupta is not reined in, his
actions and statements may place the Central and the State governments
at grave risk.
Central to these anxieties are Gupta's visit to Ayodhya on December 12
and his statement there that the construction of a Ram temple at the
site of the demolished Babri Masjid was still on the BJP's agenda. His
remark triggered expressions of indignation from various quarters,
including some constituent parties of the alliance ruling at the
Centre. In Parliament, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was
subjected to close questioning by members who demanded to know if the
National Democratic Alliance (ND A) Government at the Centre had
a "hidden agenda". Gupta subsequently denied that he had made such a
statement, but this carried little conviction in the light of the fact
that his original remark, which had been recorded by television
cameras, was telec ast over and over again.
Gupta's remark contributed to the sense of unease among the BJP's
alliance partners in U.P., such as the Uttar Pradesh Loktantrik
Congress (UPLC) and the Janatantrik Bahujan Samaj Party (JBSP). Leaders
of the two parties said that any move towards buildi ng a Ram temple at
Ayodhya would force them to walk out of the BJP-led government in the
State, a prospect that would have inevitably led to the government's
downfall.
Gupta's remark, BJP insiders claimed, did not reflect the party's
official line. They that he had no brief to make such a declaration. In
their reckoning, the septuagenarian Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
activist was carried away by a sense of elatio n over the perception
that Kalyan Singh had virtually forsaken the Ram temple movement.
Announcing his intention to float a new party (which was subsequently
named the Rashtriya Kranti Party), Kalyan Singh stated on December 10,
a day after he was expelled from the BJP, that since the two hardline
champions of the Hindutva agenda within the Sangh Parivar - the RSS and
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) - had "disowned" him, he was
dissociating himself from the Ram temple campaign. He added that rather
than focus on a socially divisive Hindutva agenda, he would take up
inclusive issues, which relate to social justice, reservation for the
backward classes and social engineering.
The BJP leadership felt a sense of relief over Kalyan Singh's agenda.
This was because even as they prepared to expel Kalyan Singh, they were
clueless as to whether they would be able to respond politically if the
former Chief Minister opted for a hardli ne Hindutva initiative.
These apprehensions grew after reports came in the wake of Kalyan
Singh's suspension from the party on November 27 that he had opened a
line of communication with Shiv Sena president Bal Thackeray and that
he might join the Shiv Sena as its leader in U.P . Kalyan Singh's
remarks during those days that he would always be associated with the
Ram temple movement and that the RSS and he were "assets" to each other
seemed to lend credence to these. There were also reports of a
breakdown of communication betwe en Thackeray and Vajpayee in recent
times; Thackeray evidently nursed a grievance that under Vajpayee's
leadership, there had been dilution in the Hindutva agenda. The BJP
leadership sensed that if Kalyan Singh, who had come to be identified
as the masco t of the Ram temple movement, joined the Shiv Sena, it
would put the BJP in an embarrassing position.
Throughout this period, central- and State-level leaders of the BJP
were apprehensive that the former Chief Minister would go public on
December 6, the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, with
an initiative to revive the temple campaign. S uch a move, the
leadership feared, would have a domino effect in the BJP, given that
its core group of leaders and supporters espoused a rabid Hindutva
agenda. Giving voice to the prevailing concerns, Gupta told newspersons
that he would be compelled to dissolve the U.P. Assembly and call fresh
elections if Kalyan Singh revived the Ayodhya movement.
Going into damage control mode, the BJP leadership initiated a dialogue
with Shiv Sena leader Udhav Thackeray and urged him to persuade Bal
Thackeray not to admit Kalyan Singh into the Shiv Sena. This initiative
succeeded around December 8, and the BJP l eadership promptly expelled
Kalyan Singh. On his part, the former Chief Minister realised that he
would not be able to push the Hindutva agenda without the backing of
cadre organisations such as the RSS, the VHP and the Shiv Sena. He then
distanced himse lf from his earlier commitment to revive the temple
campaign.
SUBIR ROY
Kalyan Singh greets Ram Prakash Gupta upon his being chosen Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister. At left is State BJP president Rajnath Singh.
For the BJP, however, the relief was short-lived. Gupta created new
problems with his statement of December 12.
A WHISPERING campaign seeking Gupta's removal is now on in the State
BJP. It originated essentially from supporters of State party president
and Union Minister Rajnath Singh, who want him as Chief Minister. Their
argument is that Gupta is a weak leader a nd in the event of the party
opting for mid-term elections, as appears likely, the party's interests
would not be well served by having him at the helm.
There are not many takers for this demand at the central level, but
there is no doubt that Rajnath Singh's clout in the party is increasing
by the day. He is being projected as a key player of the future.
According to his supporters, Rajnath Singh is dyn amic and has a clean
image compared to other leaders who had campaigned against Kalyan Singh
(such as Lalji Tandon and Kalraj Mishra) and he would ultimately emerge
as the most important personality in the State BJP.
However, the BJP leadership admits that even Rajnath Singh may not be
able to check the erosion of support for the party among the Other
Backward Classes (OBCs) following Kalyan Singh's expulsion. The
strategy to elevate a few leaders from among the OBCs to key positions
in the party has not worked out so far: apparently, the names being
considered - former Bajrang Dal leader Vinay Katiyar and Om Prakash
Singh, who were considered to be Kalyan Singh loyalists - have not been
cleared by the central leade rship, particularly the Prime Minister.
The party believes that it cannot remain complacent on the strength of
the fact that Kalyan Singh has not been able to muster much support in
the BJP Legislature Party. Prior to his expulsion, Kalyan Singh claimed
that he had the support of 150 of the 17 5 BJP MLAs, but when he was
expelled only three of them met him. Significantly, there are 60-odd
BJP MLAs from OBCs.
There is, however, another consideration: that Kalyan Singh's
supporters within the Ministry and in the legislature party might be
biding their time, while enjoying power for now and preparing for the
kill during the Assembly session, scheduled to begin in late December.
The future of Kalyan Singh's party might depend on the developments
during the Assembly session. Opposition parties, including the
Samajwadi Party (S.P.), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress
(I), will be looking forward to embarrassing the BJP by raising Gupta's
statement regarding the temple movement.
In the meantime, Gupta and his team are pressing on with their
operation to ward off the "Kalyan Singh effect" on the administration.
The State Women's Commission, headed by Kalyan Singh's confidant Kusum
Rai, was disbanded. On another track, the Governm ent revived the Uttar
Pradesh Electronics Corporation (Uptron) and announced a package of
measures to implement reforms in the power sector.
Sections of the party are of the view that if the leadership can find a
leader from among the OBCs to take charge by early January and
introduce more populist measures, the BJP could be prepared to face
Assembly elections in March-April. But before that can happen, the
party has to free itself from the Ayodhya tangle.
http://www.frontlineonline.com/fl1625/16250180.htm
Exit Kalyan Singh
Kalyan Singh makes way for Ram Prakash Gupta as Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister, but the prognosis for the Bharatiya Janata Party is far from
positive.
VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN
in Lucknow
"THE political roller-coaster has completed one cycle, but this is by
no means a halt. It is bound to move again, and next time, who knows,
the results may be vastly different." That was Samajwadi Party general
secretary Amar Singh's response to the deve lopments in the Uttar
Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which culminated in Kalyan
Singh's replacement as Chief Minister. The statement of Ram Prakash
Gupta, the new Chief Minister, that he was "wearing a crown of thorns"
could turn out to be t ruer than he meant it to be, added Amar Singh.
This assessment may have come from a leader of the BJP's principal
political adversary in the State, but it has many takers within the
BJP. The mood among a large number of legislators on October 12, when
the Ram Prakash Gupta Ministry was sworn in, and on October 17, when it
was expanded, illustrated this. There were many glum and angry faces at
an event that was billed as the beginning of a process meant to lift
the party's sagging fortunes.
It is not merely the supporters of Kalyan Singh who are upset and who
predict the return of chaos to the State BJP. Even leaders belonging to
upper-caste groups, led by Ministers Kalraj Mishra and Lalji Tandon,
who had campaigned for Kalyan Singh's remov al for nearly six months,
were not really savouring what should have been their moment of
victory.
For, although Kalyan Singh was replaced, the leaders had failed to
realise their personal objectives. Both Mishra and Tandon had aspired
to become Chief Minister; in fact, days before Kalyan Singh was
removed, Mishra's supporters and a section of the med ia were certain
that Mishra would be appointed. Even on November 9, when the central
leadership of the party foisted Ram Prakash Gupta on the State unit,
Mishra's supporters had not given up hopes.
SUBIR ROY
Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta with (from right) outgoing
Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, president of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the
BJP Rajnath Singh and BJP president Kushabhau Thakre in Lucknow.
Rajnath Singh, president of the State unit of the party, too had
projected himself as a candidate, but his disappointment was relatively
minor for two reasons. One, he managed to retain his party post,
despite indications that along with the replacement of the Chief
Minister, there would be changes in the party organisation. Second,
sensing early on that none of the three chief ministerial candidates
stood a good chance, he backed Gupta's candidature when the central
leadership first suggested it. This tactical move strengthened his
relationship with Gupta.
Other factors could add to Rajnath Singh's primacy in the State unit.
Gupta has been out of active politics for long and might find it
difficult to come to terms with the prevailing political equations,
which are based on caste and pressure groups. Gupta is not lacking in
administrative experience - he was Deputy Chief Minister in 1967 under
Charan Singh - but the political and bureaucratic structures of those
times were not as caste-oriented as they are today. This is bound to
increase Gupta's dependen ce on Rajnath Singh.
Mishra and Tandon, on the other hand, have other problems. In addition
to the disappointment of losing the race, they find that their
supporters are resentful at having been kept out of the Ministry. Among
the aspirants for ministerial berths were two fo rmer Ministers whom
Kalyan Singh had dropped - Ravindra Shukla, dropped following the
controversy over the directive to make the recitation of "Vande
Mataram" and "Saraswati Vandana" compulsory in schools, and Devendra
Singh Bhole, for criticising the th en Chief Minister's style of
functioning. Dr. Surjit Singh Dang, the only Sikh MLA, and Rajesh
Pandey, a senior Member of the Legislative Council, too had hoped to
become Ministers.
In the end, Gupta inducted only two new Ministers of State, Seema Rizvi
and Ram Babu Harit. Both these appointments were made with an eye on
two key political constituencies - Muslims and the Scheduled Castes.
Further, Dhanraj Yadav, a Minister of State under Kalyan Singh, was
elevated to Cabinet rank. This too was done with caste equations in
mind.
The disappointment in the anti-Kalyan Singh camp was accentuated by the
fact that Gupta did not drop Ministers who were considered close to the
deposed Chief Minister. Many key activists in the campaign to have
Kalyan Singh replaced had hoped to fill the ministerial positions
vacated by Kalyan Singh's associates. Their hopes soared on November 12
when only seven BJP Ministers were sworn in, although the "quotas" of
alliance partners such as the Uttar Pradesh Loktantrik Congress (UPLC),
the Janatantrik B ahujan Samaj Party (JBSP) and the Samata Party were
filled up. This was seen as an indication of Gupta's intention to ease
out Ministers close to Kalyan Singh, principally Hukum Singh, Premalata
Katiyar and Surya Pratap Shahi.
SUBIR ROY
BJP leader Lalji Tandon.
However, on November 17, when the Ministry was expanded, all of them
were sworn in. A section of the anti-Kalyan Singh group interprets this
as a move to isolate Kalyan Singh from his own supporters.
One thing is certain: the change of leadership has engendered
bitterness not only among the deposed Chief Minister and his supporters
but also among those who claim to have overthrown him. This bitterness
is not a good sign for the BJP and its new govern ment.
THE initial signals from the dispensation hold no promise that the
leadership change will bring any good to the State. When the campaign
to have Kalyan Singh replaced was on, it was often claimed on behalf of
the BJP that one of the factors that impeded good governance was the
size of the 90-strong Ministry. The suggestion was that once Kalyan
Singh was removed, the Ministry would be downsized. According to some
central leaders, this issue came up when the proposal to remove Kalyan
Singh was considered. It was raised with alliance partners too, and a
few leaders of the UPLC and the JBSP reportedly agreed to consider the
proposal. However, Gupta's Ministry is 91-strong: all the Ministers
belonging to the alliance partners have been reinducted, and addit
ionally two BJP leaders have been taken in. Evidently, the compulsions
of keeping the coalition afloat take precedence over other promises.
The new Chief Minister's response to some of the controversial
appointments made by Kalyan Singh during his last days in office,
including the appointment of Lucknow Municipal Council member Kusum Rai
as chairperson of the State Women's Commission, point s to an
inclination to take the path of least resistance. At least half a dozen
others were similarly rewarded with chairmanships of corporations: Raj
Narayan Bhind (Mandi Parishad), O.P. Singh (Seed Corporation), Dr.
Anupam Alok (Forest Corporation) and Vinod Singh (Sugar Corporation).
Kalyan Singh also transferred about 200 senior bureaucrats and police
officers during his last 10 days in power.
Gupta is unlikely to reverse these measures; the beneficiaries of
Kalyan Singh's largesse are thus likely to continue in their positions.
WHAT, then, do the BJP and the State stand to gain from Kalyan Singh's
removal? It appears that the only tangible difference now is that Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was bent on removing Kalyan Singh
from office, is pleased. So keen was he to attain this objective that
he found time to discuss it with party colleagues even as the nation
was coming to terms with the cyclone devastation in Orissa. Home
Minister L.K. Advani and his supporters wished to see Kalyan Singh
continue as Chief Ministe r, and BJP president Kushabhau Thakre was
sympathetic to this line. But Vajpayee had his way.
On November 3 and 4, the BJP National Executive met in New Delhi to
discuss Uttar Pradesh. Here, Vajpayee insisted that he would settle for
nothing short of Kalyan Singh's removal. Murli Manohar Joshi backed
Vajpayee. He put forward an old proposal - tha t Kalyan Singh, who
belongs to a backward class, be replaced by a person from a forward
caste. The allegation that Kalyan Singh had sabotaged the BJP's chances
in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh in concert with Samajwadi
Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, who too belongs to a backward
class, was repeated. Thakre then said that the leadership was thinking
of taking "corrective measures" in Uttar Pradesh.
Thakre made a set of suggestions to enable Kalyan Singh to make an
honourable exit but Kalyan Singh rejected all these proposals in the
belief that with the backing of Advani and others such as party general
secretary K.N. Govindacharya, he would continu e in office. Advani and
Co. supported Kalyan Singh on the basis of the argument that Other
Backward Classes such as Kurmis and Lodh Rajputs were the mainstay of
the BJP in the State and that large sections of people belonging to
these caste groups owed their allegiance to Kalyan Singh. At the end of
the National Executive meeting, Kalyan Singh exuded confidence;
returning to Lucknow, he asserted that there was no move to remove him.
But in the next four days, reality caught up with him. The central
leadership announced that Gupta would be appointed in his place. A
shaken Kalyan Singh went on the offensive: he made a trip to the
makeshift temple at the site of the demolished Babri Ma sjid at Ayodhya
and accused the Prime Minister of not giving adequate attention to the
BJP's basic campaign themes. He followed this up with the appointment
of his supporters in key posts. For the next few days, he kept the
central leadership on tenterho oks on the matter of precisely when he
would submit his resignation. Finally, he handed over his resignation
letter to Governor Suraj Bhan on the morning of November 11, barely a
few hours before Gupta was to be elected leader of the BJP Legislature
Part y.
SUBIR ROY
BJP leader Kalraj Mishra.
IN the final analysis, even the choice of Gupta is an indication that
the central leadership acknowledges Kalyan Singh's clout. That none of
Kalyan Singh's detractors such as Mishra, Tandon and Rajnath Singh was
chosen reflects the inability or reluctanc e of the leadership to go
all out against Kalyan Singh. The same applies to the retention of
Kalyan Singh's supporters in the Ministry. In fact, at a meeting of the
State leadership of the party on November 11 and 12, Mishra, Tandon and
Rajnath Singh had pressed for the removal of some of Kalyan Singh's
close supporters from the Ministry and Gupta reportedly agreed to do
so. However, this plan was torpedoed by some nifty counter-moves by
Govindacharya and Advani. Govindacharya rushed to Delhi to inform
Advani of the move; Advani said he would not attend the swearing-in if
Kalyan Singh's supporters were dropped. He made it clear that the State
leaders should wait for Vajpayee, who was abroad, to return and take a
final decision. After Vajpayee returned, Advani held talks with him; by
all indications, this led to the retention of all of Kalyan Singh
supporters in the Ministry.
Given the fact that Kalyan Singh has his own people in the Ministry and
in the BJP Legislature Party, he will continue to be a force in the
State BJP. He also has a good rapport with a large number of MLAs of
the UPLC and the JBSP. However, the section o f the BJP that has the
support of Tandon and Mishra reportedly plans to initiate moves to
focus attention on allegations that he was working in tandem with the
S.P. during the Lok Sabha elections; its intention is to force the
former Chief Minister to ta ke extreme steps and get him expelled from
the party. This section apparently has a new plan to build up the BJP
in the State.
One thing, however, is certain. Despite his being a "compromise
candidate", Gupta will find the going tough. And as BJP insiders admit,
Gupta's elevation has not ended the fireworks in the party. In fact,
the post-Diwali change of leadership has merely g iven a new dimension
to political pyrotechnics in the Uttar Pradesh BJP.
--
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