Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
The Pioneer
May 19, 1999
Title: Reluctant leader can't lend helping hand: BJP Author: Pioneer News Service / New Delhi Publication: The Pioneer Date: May 19, 1999 The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday ended its tactical ambiguity on Sonia Gandhi's foreign birth and slammed her resignation as a "sham" aimed at covering up the Congress president's haste to grab power. The BJP statement called the entire resignation drama as a "mockery of the political process." The party said Ms Gandhi was "a reluctant citizen. She was reluctant about her husband's entry into politics. She was reluctant about her own entry into politics. She now claims to be reluctant to be her party's president." And a "reluctant citizen," it added can hardly take up the "onerous" responsibility of this country's chief executive. The BJP said the Congress was "cracking up" on "dynasty" being the holding factor for the party. Stating that the Congress was in a vortex of internal turmoil, the BJP added "In the present case, the representative of the dynasty is a vulnerable and inexperienced person of foreign origin." The BJP sought to drive the point that Ms Gandhi's latest position did not square up with her "enthusiasm" about "midnight conspiratorial meetings" to plot the fall of the BJP-led Government which had a "mandate to rule." The BJP has hit out at Ms Gandhi's moves after the fall of the Vajpayee Government, stating that "She was equally enthusiastic about her own backdoor entry into the prime ministerial office even if that meant mis-stating to the President that she has the support of 272 MPs when in fact she had 39 less." BJP strategists plan to focus on the Congress "dynasty" politics for the next few weeks in tandem with the unfolding crisis around 10 Janpath. With the "dynasty" linked to the resurgence of "anti-Congressism," the BJP would like the divide to be wider. The party's statement criticises the Congress for "once again" proving to be nothing more than a crowd around a "family." The dig at the orchestrated support to Ms Gandhi is followed by the observation that "Whenever the `family' resurfaces as a nucleus, the party reassembles with `dynasty' as a substitute for democracy and ideology." The BJP has knocked the Congress' stability card following the power struggle in the party. "A crumbling and unstable party can hardly provide the nation with a stable Government. The National Democratic Alliance of the BJP and its allies is the only acceptable alternative.'' Pointing out that Ms Gandhi's letter to the CWC makes the ludicrous claim of her life-time commitment to the nation, the party said, "That a political leader has to seek to prove her allegiance to this country in order to fight an inner-party battle itself demonstrates the person's vulnerability."
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