Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Pepped up by Narendra Modi’s victory in Gujarat, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has started preparing the ground in Uttar Pradesh, where it needs to improve its performance to come to power at the national level.
BJP leaders in the state have made up their mind to play once again the Hindutva card coupled with focus on terrorism. After the spate of terror strikes in the state in recent weeks, they have begun to train their guns against the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for its ‘utter failure’ in dealing with terror.
They propose to project Modi’s victory in the Gujarat assembly elections last month as the BJP’s win against terrorism.
The message was clear from BJP national vice-president and two-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh’s 75th birthday celebrations here Saturday.
Already, there were indications that Kalyan Singh would return to the centre stage of state politics, essentially underlining his image of a Hindu hardliner and remembered as one of the leaders responsible for the movement that led to the demolition of the 16th century Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992.
Among others BJP national general secretary Arun Jaitley attended the birthday celebrations.
Both Kalyan Singh and Jaitley talked at length about terrorism, emphasising that the BJP would project itself as a viable and effective alternative to the BSP in the state and to the Congress in New Delhi.
The party’s rank and file responded to the theme.
‘When Modi can succeed with the Hindutva card in Gujarat, why can’t we do it in Uttar Pradesh?’ asked Shyamnandan Singh, senior party functionary.
State BJP spokesman Hriday Narain Dikshit added: ‘Radical Hindutva alone can give a fitting reply to terrorism that appears to have already extended its tentacles to different parts of Uttar Pradesh. I am confident we will be able to knock it down once and for all.’
Jaitley later told reporters here: ‘While the Congress and the BSP are reluctant to take any effective steps against terrorism because of their vote bank politics, the Samajwadi Party was an open supporter of those harbouring terrorists.’
‘Whenever security agencies have managed to zero in on those fuelling terror, top leaders of these parties have prevented any deterrent action against those who patronise and shelter terrorists,’ he said.
He cited last week’s attack on a paramilitary camp here as a ‘glaring example of the lax attitude of both the central and the state governments.’
He flayed the Mayawati government for not heeding intelligence inputs about the increasing terrorist network in the state.
‘Uttar Pradesh has already become a major hub of terrorism and only the BJP has the will to contain this menace,’ he added.
Kalyan Singh spelt out the party’s intent, saying: ‘The biggest challenge facing the nation today is terrorism and unless we strengthen Hindutva, we will not be able to bring an end to it.’
Source: yahoo.com
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