The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Vajpayee's remarks

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Friday, Jun 25, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Vajpayee's remarks

Sir, — The comment, Pushkal jhal ("I have had enough") shows Atal Bihari Vajpayee's disappointment with the Sangh Parivar. It was around Mr. Vajpayee that the NDA revolved. The only mistake he made was to go soft on the Gujarat riots. That the Gujarat issue was one of the reasons for the NDA's failure cannot be denied even by the Parivar. Any attack on Mr. Vajpayee would amount to non-acceptance of the people's verdict.

C.P. Velayudhan Nair,
Kochi

* * *

Sir, — Mr. Vajpayee's statement that for the first time he was under attack caused deep anguish. He is under attack for his right thinking and accurate assessment of Gujarat and Narendra Modi. It is unfortunate that he is being isolated within his party.

C. Johnson,
Thiruvananthapuram

* * *

Sir, — I refer to Mr. Vajpayee's unexpected outburst. At last, the right man in the wrong party did the right thing.

S. Sudhakar,
Pattukottai, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — All good men have to bear the cross. Mr. Vajpayee is no exception.

Ram Gurbaxani,
Vadodara

* * *

Sir, — It is strange that the BJP leaders are still harping on Hindutva. It was this hate campaign that cost the party in Elections 2004. The leaders should realise that those who support the party for its Hindutva ideology did not shift their loyalty; it was the common man, who wanted clean governance and who was disillusioned with the leaders for their religious fanaticism and inaction against corrupt elements, who abandoned them.

M.S. Murty,
Secunderabad

* * *

Sir, — The BJP's resolve that the neglect of Hindutva is the reason for its defeat reflects its failure to realise that it was the adherence to Hindutva that caused its defeat.

C. Justin,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — Mr. Vajpayee has a right to believe that but for Gujarat, the BJP would have sailed through in the Lok Sabha elections. But with the Congress having secured broad political support and opted for a pro-poor and pro-farmer growth strategy, the BJP may well have been edged out of the centrist platform.

Tirumalai Raman,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — The BJP's decision not to make Narendra Modi the super scapegoat for the party's debacle in Elections 2004 was judicious. The BJP poll managers' failure to forge alliances with winnable regional parties was the main reason for its defeat. Even when the anti-incumbency wave swept the country, it was not so intense in Gujarat.

John Deepak,
Thrissur, Kerala

* * *

Sir, — Mr. Vajpayee's statement that the Modi affair is a "thing of the past" comes at a time when the BJP is licking its wounds. This signifies the party think-tank's refusal to concede defeat and the fact that the masses categorically rejected the NDA principally for its anti-minority stance and its pseudo-secular beliefs.

It might be unfair to blame the BJP's debacle on two individuals. However, the fact remains that Mr. Vajpayee's hesitation in acting against Mr. Modi denoted the BJP's continuing accession to the Hindutva agenda. This would have weighed heavily in the minds of the urban literate and the socially cognisant section of the electorate.

Sairam Sanath Kumar,
Kochi, Kerala

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