NEW DELHI: With the opposition BJP in some sort of a disarray with former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana charting out his own course and two senior leaders, Jagdish Mukhi and Harsh Vardhan, away in Melbourne, the field has been left open for the Congress party to take credit for the proposed changes in the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 that holds out the promise of a major reprieve to lakhs of people in the Capital.

Political observers here point out that the irony of the situation is that while both Prof. Mukhi and Dr. Vardhan have been charging the Sheila Dikshit Government with various acts of commission and omission, they did not think twice before embarking on a "foreign junket'' to Melbourne sponsored by the Delhi Government.

At a time when the people of Delhi are facing various problems including that on the power and water front, an issue that these two leaders vehemently raised both inside and outside the Delhi Assembly, the decision of the two senior BJP leaders to be part of the entourage to Melbourne has surprised many party men. "It did not make any sense to undertake a junket at such a crucial time. These leaders should have been with the people in their hour of crisis. Also, taking favours from the Government at this juncture has certainly shown them in poor light,'' a senior BJP leader remarked.

What has surprised the party cadres and leaders in the BJP is that just before their departure to Melbourne in the Chief Minister's entourage, these two leaders had demanded Ms. Dikshit's resignation of charges of corruption and nepotism. "But they did not hesitate to jump on to the Chief Minister's bandwagon when it came to undertaking a sponsored trip abroad. With Mr. Khurana pulling in a different direction, the party has been left in disarray. Union Minister for Urban Development Jaipal Reddy and his junior Minister Ajay Maken need to be complimented for this decision to amend the Master Plan for Delhi. This is a major step forward in providing relief to the people of Delhi,'' Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said.

Interestingly, Mr. Khurana, who had threatened to break seals, has also gone silent on the issue. "I have launched Delhi Bachao Morcha and will lead an agitation on issues facing the people of Delhi. I will announce my next plan of action in the first week of April,'' Mr. Khurana added.

The confusion within the BJP continues as Mr. Khurana is yet to come clear on his relationship with the party that has suspended him. On the one hand, Mr. Khurana had announced the formation of a Morcha and lashed out at senior leaders, including L.K. Advani, while on the other he talks about having given word to a very senior BJP leader not to speak "politics'' till the month end. "This indicates his confused state of mind. He is reluctant to lead the rebellion and wants an honourable rehabilitation that is impossible under the present dispensation in the BJP,'' a senior BJP leader stated.

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