India at Crossroads

Sunday, 30 June 2013 21:24 GFP Columnist - Rattan Mann

Former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani

Today India stands at a crossroad with very far-reaching implications for its future. Things would have not been so dramatic had not an old rod been poked into a smoothly moving new wheel.

Yes, I am referring to the sudden turmoil in the main opposition party of India, the BJP. This turmoil will eventually engulf the whole of India.

Just yesterday BJP appointed the chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi to a key position to pave the way for him to become the next prime minister of India after the 2014 general elections.

Today (10 June,13) the whole of India was shocked to learn that the veteran leader and the former deputy prime minister, L.K. Advani, has resigned from all his positions from the party in protest. Rumours have it that at 85 he wants to become the prime minister after failing twice before.

I find this behaviour of Advani very petty. He is acting like a cry baby who rushes out of the house the moment he doesn’t get an ice cream. At 85 it is time for him to lay back and prepare to “meet God” as Mao put it once. But before “meeting God” he seems to be hell-bent on destroying the very party he created.

Now there are a couple of options for BJP and Modi.

1. Advani withdraws his resignation, and listens to the voice of the “silent majority” of India who want to see Modi as the next PM. Then Modi has a very great chance of becoming the next PM.

2. The BJP stands by Modi in spite of Advani and his group. Even then Modi has a very good chance of being the next PM.

3. Modi splits from the BJP and forms his own party, BJP(Modi). He may not be able to become the PM then, but he would quite definitely confine to oblivion the present BJP and the old guard.

This has happened before in India and I am sad to see history repeating itself.

In the 1970’s the veteran politician and former deputy prime minister MorarjiBhai Desai had a tussle with the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. She split from the congress party and formed her own party which is the present congress party. Desai, his group and party, faded into oblivion.

So here is my advice to chief minister Modi:

Go for it, chap, and without the old guard, if necessary. History has shown that bold generals often took a gamble, and attacked more powerful and better-equipped armies than theirs. And mostly they won! Politics is war by ballots rather than bullets, but the principles are the same.

Finally, my prediction about this “great gamble”:

The myth that the Muslim community of India is against Modi will explode. Many would be surprised by the amount of Muslim support he gets.

So cheer up chap, you are the next PM if you don’t give up!

Image Courtesy of thepressweb.com - L.K. Advani

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