The Hindu : New Delhi News : Crisis in Delhi BJP; Balli on `fast unto death'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 08, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Crisis in Delhi BJP; Balli on `fast unto death'

Staff Reporter

Accuses Harsh Vardhan, Jagdish Mukhi of acting as "loyal Opposition" to Congress Government

RAISING HANDS IN PROTEST: Activists of Delhi Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party holding a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Tuesday against the ongoing demolition drive. — Photo: Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party has been thrown into turmoil with former Minister and Madan Lal Khurana loyalist Harsharan Singh Balli accusing both Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan and Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Jagdish Mukhi of playing into the hands of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and acting as "loyal Opposition" to the Congress Government.

Mr. Balli, who began a `fast unto death' in his Hari Nagar constituency in West Delhi against the ongoing demolitions in the Capital on Tuesday, said both Dr. Vardhan and Mr. Mukhi had failed to raise issues and problems faced by a majority of Delhiites. Instead they both are behaving as "loyal Opposition" inside and outside the Delhi Assembly compromising the interests of lakhs of party workers as well as the party.

Mr. Balli decided to go on fast despite a warning by Dr. Vardhan that the programme did not have official sanction and such a move could invite disciplinary action from the party. It is understood that the party has already taken a serious view of Mr. Balli's accusations against the two senior leaders and is busy assessing the situation before taking an action against him.

The sudden outburst by Mr. Balli has not come as a surprise to many in the party as the undercurrents had been there for quite some time. The very fact that Mr. Balli has sought to target Dr. Vardhan and Mr. Mukhi is being seen as an attempt by the Khurana faction to make its presence felt. A number of leaders are of the view that the party has not been able to cash in on the strong resentment prevailing against the Delhi Government and the agitations have been limited to individual actions. In many cases, the party has worked to target its own MLAs by launching a parallel agitation on the same issue at the same venue.

"The Delhi BJP has not been able to dent the citadel of the Chief Minister or the Congress party. Their agitations lack the punch and there is not even a single attempt to corner the Government effectively."

BJP failed

There is also a feeling within the BJP that the party as well as the legislators should have gone to the town on the issue of show cause notices to the Chief Minister and other Congress leaders. Similarly, in the cooperative group housing society scam, the Delhi Government was allowed to go scot-free by the BJP as one of its own leaders reportedly figured in the list of the main perpetuators of the scam.

Threatens to resign

Mr. Balli has levelled serious charges against the two leaders and has time and again stated that they were working with a certain agenda in mind that was harming the interests of the party. Not only this, an emotional Mr. Balli has also threatened to resign from the Delhi Assembly if the issues raised by him are not addressed.

For his part, Dr. Vardhan refused to talk about the matter but said all programmes should have the party's approval.

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