Friends indeed

Published : Mar 16, 2002 00:00 IST

The muted response of its 'secular' allies to the developments in Ayodhya and Gujarat emboldens the BJP to dismiss the Opposition's demand for the removal of the Narendra Modi government.

WHEN the Opposition and sections of civil society made persistent demands for the dismissal of the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat holding it responsible for the post-Godhra mayhem, the Atal Behari Vajpayee government at the Centre remained indifferent to them. The reasons were not far to seek.

The Vajpayee government owes its existence to the support extended by the Bharatiya Janata Party's 20 allies inside and outside the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Through a process of assimilation and accommodation, the Vajpayee government has largely managed to neutralise any opposition within the NDA to the BJP's communal agenda. It was, therefore, not surprising that many of the BJP's secular allies hardly bothered to put pressure on the government to accept the Opposition's demand. This was in contrast to their success in 2000 in forcing the Vajpayee government to prevail upon the Gujarat government to withdraw its circular allowing the participation of State government employees in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) camps.

The allies have lost much of their clout within the NDA not because of the BJP's increasing strength but because of their relatively weak position on their home turfs. In fact, the BJP has lost ground in many States, as is evident from the latest round of Assembly elections. Its secular allies such as the Trinamul Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Samata Party and the Akali Dal have either lost power in their respective strongholds or failed to make a dent in their major rivals' base. Political compulsions in their respective areas have forced some of them to toe a pro-Vajpayee line.

The DMK's response to the Gujarat developments, for instance, was dictated by its compulsions in Tamil Nadu. The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) shows signs of moving closer to the BJP, especially after its general secretary Jayalalithaa's return to power. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's response to the Godhra incident was in line with the usual response of the Sangh Parivar in such situations. She accused secular parties of being silent over the Godhra incident because the victims happened to belong to the majority community. The AIADMK did not join the protest meeting organised by Opposition parties outside Parliament House. P.G. Narayanan, AIADMK member of the Rajya Sabha, spoke against the Opposition's demand for the dismissal of Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister L.K. Advani for their "complicity" in the attacks on minorities in Gujarat. P.N. Shiva, a DMK member of the Rajya Sabha, appealed to the Opposition to make common cause with the government to stop the bloodshed and butchery in Gujarat. "The NDA should remain united," he said.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which supports the NDA government from outside, also failed to take a strong line. During a debate in the Rajya Sabha, its member Y.V. Rao confined himself to a condemnation of the violence in Gujarat and an appeal to the government to see that such incidents did not recur. Similar was the response of K. Yerran Naidu, leader of the TDP Parliamentary Party, who was part of the all-party delegation that visited Gujarat. Although he was convinced that the attacks on minorities began as a result of the government's failure to arrest miscreants on the eve of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad-sponsored bandh, he was reluctant to demand the removal of the Modi government. He told Frontline: "The government has ordered a judicial inquiry. It is clear that the Chief Minister's justification of the riots - when he described them as a natural reaction to the Godhra incident - triggered more violence against the minorities. But we should await the outcome of the inquiry." His response on the Ayodhya issue was equally evasive. The TDP, he said, was not against negotiations to resolve the issue and it would wait and watch until the government finalised its stand on maintaining the status quo in Ayodhya.

The TDP's vacillation was perhaps owing to the perception that the Vajpayee government does not need its support for survival. One possible reason for the perceived confidence of the BJP is the prospect of the 14-member Bahujan Samaj Party supporting it in the Lok Sabha in return for its support to BSP leader Mayawati's chief ministership in Uttar Pradesh. Strengthening this perception was Mayawati's tepid response to the Gujarat violence and the VHP's threats in Ayodhya.

The DMK's response was also marked by ambiguity. Asked about the formula suggested by the Sankaracharya of Kanchi to resolve the Ayodhya dispute, its president M. Karunanidhi said that he was happy that someone from Tamil Nadu was able to suggest a workable solution. Earlier he said that the DMK would withdraw its support if the Vajpayee government allowed a temple to come up at the disputed site. His critics were quick to ask what would be the use of such a stand if the Vajpayee government was prepared to quit office after allowing the VHP to accomplish its goal in Ayodhya.

The response of Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who would not miss any opportunity to embarrass the Vajpayee government in the past, was largely subdued. She returned to the NDA following her party's rout in the Assembly elections in West Bengal and is reportedly waiting to be reinducted into the Cabinet.

None of the secular allies of the BJP thought it fit to invoke the provisions of the National Agenda for Governance (NAG) against the Vajpayee government in view of the VHP's demand for permission to perform a "symbolic puja" near the disputed site to mark the beginning of the construction of a Ram temple. The NAG forbids NDA constituents to raise issues of contention among them, including Ayodhya.

Emboldened by the allies' muted response to the developments in Ayodhya and Gujarat, the BJP defended Modi to the hilt. Party spokesperson V.K. Malhotra rejected the Opposition demand for the removal of the Narendra Modi government. He dismissed the Opposition charge that the Gujarat government's inadequate response to the communal frenzy stemmed from its anti-Muslim bias. Since communal harmony was under threat, Malhotra said, this was not the juncture to make such demands.

Whatever happens in Ayodhya on March 15 and after, the Vajpayee government will have no reason to worry about its survival in the immediate term as long as its allies are prepared to keep their secular credentials aside for the sake of protecting and furthering their immediate political interests.

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