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The 'intrepid' suggestion that BJP members should have a code of ethics to keep their conduct above board, made by newly appointed party chief K Jana Krishnamurthy, is being seen as a 'revolutionary' approach to cleanse its image in the wake of the tehelka.com scandal.
"Krishnamurthyji's revolutionary suggestion shows his determination to improve the party's image. This is the kind of stuff self-introspection is made of. Can the Congress take such a measure?" asked party spokesman Narendra Modi.
Modi, who accompanied Krishnamurthy at his maiden press conference after taking over as the party chief, said the latter had even asked party members to give their suggestions regarding the code of ethics so that it could become a reality.
"This is a carefully considered suggestion, which comes after the prime minister's exhortation to party members that there is need for self-introspection following the Tehelka allegations," the BJP spokesman pointed out.
Significantly, Krishnamurthy also extended the olive branch to Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, even though her party is talking to the Congress for an electoral alliance in West Bengal.
The Trinamul, which jettisoned the ruling National Democratic Alliance following the scandal, has given a deadline [ending Thursday] to the Congress leadership to wrap up the alliance.
In a shrewd move, the BJP chief said that despite senior BJP vice-president Kailashpati Mishra's assertion [in Calcutta] to the contrary, the party's door to the Trinamul was open.
"But she [Banerjee] will have to give in writing that her party will support the NDA [in the event of a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha]," Krishnamurthy said.
That the BJP chief wants the "communal" tag attached to his party to go is evident from his 'confession' that it has failed to bring the religious minorities closer to it.
This too is a shrewd move, given the fact that there are many Muslim voters in West Bengal.
Krishnamurthy could not have failed to note that Muslim leaders in the Trinamul, who recently talked about joining the BJP, emphasized that the saffron party was not communal.
He pointed out that his party would "throw its full weight behind the NDA's agenda of governance" as has been reiterated time and again by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The BJP chief tried to dispel the notion that NDA constituents like the Dravidra Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party had stayed away from the NDA rally in Delhi because of their disillusionment with the Tehelka scandal.
"The DMK leadership was busy [in Madras] with seat-sharing arrangements and the TDP had other reasons for not attending the NDA rally," he said.
He described the NDA as a "voluntary organisation" of parties, which had a common agenda of governance.
Krishnamurthy also demanded that the government set up a National Judicial Commission as had been promised in its agenda.
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