Strange are the challenges India’s political parties face these days! The BJP has a clear-cut policy on almost all issues facing the nation, which is well articulated by Prime Minister Modi. However, even at times when this policy is seen to have been proven successful, it is undermined by maverick party members, including MPs and MLAs, who make statements in contravention of that policy. One recent example of this is the one about the Indian Army spokesperson, Colonel Sophiya Qureshi, by a Madhya Pradesh minister. Is it so difficult to understand the Prime Minister’s approach which is focused on ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’? Despite that, the party is continuously embarrassed by misstatements, poor phrasing, inherent communal bias, etc. It makes one wonder whether this is deliberate or a deep-seated shortcoming.
So, while the BJP is embarrassed by its motor-mouths for saying the wrong things, the Congress is unhappy that a member like Shashi Tharoor actually expresses the right opinions that receive a thumbs-up from all sections of society. It so contrasts with what the party supreme leader says in and outside parliament. Tharoor is in the dock, these days, for having the gumption to not just support PM Modi’s actions on several occasions but also agreeing with the overall response to the Pahalgam attack. He is presently doing his duty as a patriot by representing India’s cause in other lands.
Then there is the RJD, which has expelled its MLA, party leader Lalu Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, for vacationing with his girlfriend. He has also been banished from the family by Lalu. Is he expected to live a monastic life because the courts have not been able to rule on his plea for divorce over the past twelve years? Considering how the family is not troubled by Lalu’s convictions and imprisonment in cases of corruption, it is remarkable that it has principles to uphold regarding Tej Pratap’s personal life. Is it a reflection of the value-system prevalent in Bihar?
The DMK, however, is quite put together in this regard. Its ministers court controversy vis a vis the rest of India, be it regarding Hinduism or ethnicity. Expulsion would occur if a party member were to become an ‘Indian’ in mindset.
It is time, perhaps, for an exchange programme, with a period of grace allowed for leaders to join other parties without losing their membership of Parliament or state assembly! The leaders would be able to sleep in peace for a change without worrying about what the ‘breaking news’ may be in the morning news broadcasts.
