ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

BJP's political resolution asks cadre to be better than Congress

The Bharatiya Janata Party national council on Sunday hailed as ''historic transfer of power'', the formation of the BJP-led government at the Centre, and said the party was now seen as a national alternative and a ''principal and stable pole of Indian politics.''

In the political resolution which was taken up for discussion on the opening day of the recent two-day session in Gandhinagar in Gujarat, the party called upon its cadre to prove that the BJP was a better alternative to the Congress.

The resolution castigated its opponents and said the Congress, which was once the dominating political force in the country, was now second to the BJP. The Janata Dal, that had once aspired to occupy the non-Congress space, was now a spent force, relegated to being no more than a ''footnote in India's post-Independence political history".

''The Communist Party of India and the CPI find themselves trapped in a time-warp: their tattered banner of revolution and slogan of class struggle no longer inspires the masses,'' the resolution said.

Describing the Congress as the ''other pole'' to the BJP, the resolution stated that in the new Indian political order, alignments could only take place ''around these two poles.''

As of today, most regional parties were allies or supporters of the BJP. ''We resolve to further expand and consolidate this alliance under our leadership -- as partners in the noble task of building a new India that will stride and not shuffle into the next century,'' it said.

The resolution cautioned the party cadre to be on guard against ''every trick'' by the Congress. ''The Left has realised that it was unable to fight the BJP politically and declared its preference for dynasty over democracy. It would be only too happy to align with the Congress in trying to subvert the people's mandate.'' Hence, the resolution said, ''we should not let our guard down for even a moment.''

Urging the party workers not to rest on their laurels, the resolution wanted them to be a bridge between the people and the government to bring about parivartan (change) in every sphere of national life -- economic, social, political and cultural.

The council also called upon the workers to ''understand'' their role and responsibilities in the changed political scenario. ''Our collective role now on will be that of a ruling party of governance, by changing the character and culture of governance. This alone will help India free herself of hunger, insecurity and corruption, and emerge as a strong, prosperous and self-confident nation.''

The national council views the primary responsibility of the party as that of giving a good account of itself as a governing party -- both inside and outside government. In office, the BJP-led government will be guided by the national agenda for governance whose cornerstone is governance by consensus, while outside government, the party should actively create awareness and mobilise mass support for the national agenda.

The party should also constantly guide the government in formulating its programme and implementing them, the resolution noted.

Criticising the new economic policy initiated by the then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and actively pursued by the United Front, the resolution said it had benefited a handful of ''haves''. Therefore, it urged the Vajpayee government to reach out to the have-nots so that prosperity does not elude any section of society.

In this context, the national council ''hailed'' the government's commitment to 'berozgari hatao ' and called upon the government to make '' swadeshi and swavalaban '' the ''twin keys'' to India's economic revival. ''We reiterate our conviction that India can and shall be built by Indians.''

The resolution urged the government to allocate 60 per cent of the funds for agriculture and rural development. The plight of the farmers merits special attention in view of widespread crop failure, it said.

The council called upon the government to evolve effective measures for the welfare and uplift of weaker sections based on the principles of antodaya. It also wanted the government to evolve a housing policy to construct two million new houses each year, with priority for weaker sections of society.

The council viewed with ''concern'' the growing regional imbalance in development. It wanted the government to implement special development plans in the North-Eastern states.

The litmus test for any civil society is whether it is free of discrimination in any form. India has so far failed to pass this test, the resolution observed. Discriminations -- be it on the basis of gender or class -- still exist and the party should help end these, it said.

The council urged the government to move rapidly in this direction both through legislation ''and by encouraging a radical shift in our society's attitudes and approaches.''

The national council reiterated that the party was committed to social justice and social equality as laid down in the policy adopted at Agra and the social charter adopted at Bangalore, as well as its promise to reserve 33 per cent seats for women in all elected bodies. ''We resolve to translate them into action so that the weaker and voiceless sections of our society become partners in the decision-making process and are empowered socially, politically and economically,'' it said.

Referring to Muslims, the resolution noted that the very fact that a large number of them had voted for the BJP indicates the party's success in convincing them about the party's ''positive secularism''.

It appealed to the minority communities to take a ''decisive step and break free of the clutches of peddlers of vote-bank politics and join hands with the BJP. Their future lies in the new India we all aspire for, and not in the morass of minority-majority politics or appeasement that may benefit regressive elements but deprive them of progress and justice.''

The resolution also touched upon the alarming rise in population and called upon party workers, sympathisers and supporters to create public awareness about the problem. ''This is a national issue that has been left unattended by previous governments. We shall mobilise a popular people's campaign on this vital issue," the resolution emphasised.

It called upon the BJP ministers to declare their assets and liabilities, keeping in view the party's commitment to probity in public life and asked the government to expedite the enactment of Lok Pal bill.

The resolution touched upon the threat to India's security, electoral reforms, Centre-state relations and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Apart from the political resolution, the two-day national council meeting got underway with newly-elected party president Kushabhau Thakre declaring that friendship with Pakistan should not be at the cost of India's security interests.

Pakistan has been fomenting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and extending its Inter-Services Intelligence activities from J&K to the north-east, and from Uttar Pradesh to Tamil Nadu and therefore, the situation brooks no further delay in bringing Pakistan to its knees, Thakre warned.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report