The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : An opportunity lost

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Friday, Jun 17, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

An opportunity lost

With the Vishwa Hindu Parishad passing a resolution saying L.K. Advani should quit politics and the RSS dictating to the BJP a compromise formula ruling out a debate on his remarks about Mohammad Ali Jinnah, there is no doubt that the BJP leader is all set to exit. The loh purush should not have withdrawn his resignation as party president. That would have enhanced his as well as the BJP's standing and removed the untouchability tag attached to it. Mr. Advani lost a golden opportunity by surrendering to the Parivar.

G.M. Rama Rao,
Visakhapatnam, A.P.

Mr. Advani's utterances on Jinnah and his expression of regret over the Babri Masjid demolition are part of a well thought-out plan to give a new avatar to his Hindutva image. His resignation drama was also aimed at projecting him as a secular person. Blatant U-turns by politicians should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. The Advani issue is a classic example of making a mountain out of a molehill.

S. Nallasivan,
Tirunelveli, T.N.

It is customary for BJP leaders to raise one issue or the other to remain in the limelight. No one noticed Mr. Advani's Pakistan trip. It seems he understood this and praised Jinnah. The media took the bait and gave him and the BJP the much-needed publicity and ensured that everyone talked about Mr. Advani's visit to Pakistan.

H.K. Kishore,
Guntur, A.P.

The BJP knew it could never capture power on its own. Hence it came together with the parties opposed to the Congress to lead a coalition at the Centre. But when it was forced to showcase a secular image to keep the NDA together, it failed not only to fulfil the fundamentalist agenda such as a Ram temple at Ayodhya but also to live up to the NDA's commitment to secularism. Its failure to control the Gujarat riots is a case in point. The BJP is in a quandary of its own making. It is now being branded pseudo-fundamentalist as well as pseudo-secularist.

Cletus Dias,
Mumbai

When the BJP first rose to prominence, the people looked at it as a party with a difference. But after assuming power, it proved that it was no different from the Congress. Today, instead of introspecting and acting as responsible Opposition, it is indulging in gimmicks, Mr. Advani's comment on Jinnah being the latest.

Pritimaya Patro,
Rayagada, Orissa

The VHP, it seems, wants Mr. Advani's scalp to `cleanse' the BJP. Hindutva's man Friday seems to have suddenly become persona non grata with the Parivar. With the remote control maintaining a discreet silence, having called the Advani issue an internal matter of the BJP, it will be interesting to see how the hardliners and moderates within the party strike a balance in the coming days.

D.B.N. Murthy,
Bangalore

The BJP, if it has to grow into a credible alternative to the Congress and the Left, should not fight shy of breaking loose from the RSS. It will only brighten its chances of re-capturing power with allies unreservedly extending support.

G. Jagannathan,
Dharmapuri, T.N.

Mr. Advani's remarks on Jinnah and its fallout in the Sangh Parivar remind me of a story narrated by Sheikh Saadi, Persian poet-philosopher, about how the Satan with just a spoonful of honey brought two countries to war. The Satan smeared honey on a wall. A lizard started licking it, a cat pounced on it, and a dog attacked the cat.

The owners of the cat and the dog — a small boy and a girl — quarrelled over their pets. Their mothers were drawn into the fight, followed by their fathers. The two men belonged to two different tribes and their `Amirs' (leaders) soon joined in. There was a lot of bloodshed. When the Satan was admonished, he meekly asked: "What did I do? I only put some honey on a wall. It was they who fought and killed one another."

S.M. Pasha,
Chennai

It has almost been a month since the controversy started. The people are slowly losing interest in the Parivar quarrel. By prolonging the spat, the Parivar constituents are only reaffirming the proverb: An idle mind is the devil's workshop.

V. Sridhar,
Coimbatore

Did not British Prime Minister Winston Churchill call Gandhi a "seditious Middle Temple lawyer and half-naked fakir?" But do we not have friendly relationship with the U.K. today?

Was Mr. Advani's description of Jinnah as a secular leader such a great sin? Coming to the self-styled custodians of Hindus, the VHP and the RSS, did not Ram himself offer to perform the last rites of Ravana when his brother Vibeeshana hesitated? This is the culture of Indians and Hinduism. Let us live up to our noble teachings and behave as true citizens of the land of Gandhi.

D. Venugopalan,
Chennai

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