Gaining political mileage in the names of departed leaders is a part of the political game in our country, and it is not happening for the first time. It began right from the time of the Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and continues till date. Everyone in power has always gained political mileage through the goodwill of the departed leaders. The allegations made by a niece of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on BJP have started a new political storm in the Indian Politics arena, and it revolves around exactly this practice.
Hardly a week has passed since the demise of the great political leader and people down here have already started conspiring for their next move using his goodwill. At least that is what has been alleged by his niece Karuna Shukla, saying that the ruling BJP party is making use of the name of Atalji’s death for their political gain for the 2019 polls.
“The BJP is selfish and is doing politics in the name of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Using his name, they are prepping for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” said Karuna Shukla in an interview to News18.
Shukla alleged that the BJP profited from Vajpayee’s name during his lifetime and now after the leader’s death it was still using it for political gains. “The BJP is not at all ashamed of politicising the death of Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” said Shukla, a former Lok Sabha MP who was denied a ticket by the BJP in 2014 and later resigned from the party.
According to Shukla, the immersion of Atalji’s ashes in the rivers across the country under the tag “Atal Asthi Kalash Yatra” by the senior BJP leaders is a part of propaganda for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP leaders have been tasked with the job of organising yatras or processions, and condolence meets, as the urns are taken to rivers, she further stated.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of India’s tallest leaders and the first non-Congress Prime Minister to complete a full term in power by leading a tenuous coalition with his inclusive politics and superlative oratory, died on August 16 after a prolonged illness. He was 93, said the reports.
Media across the country have been filled up with the news of BJP’s master plan for 2019 polls using the name of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The India Today has come out with a story on how BJP is milking Atal Bihari Vajpayee like a holy cow even after his death. According to them, similar to the reverred cow, Atal Bihari Vajpayee devoted his whole life for BJP and its ideological parents the RSS and Jan Sangh. He played one of the most important roles in the party’s growth and coming to power at the Centre and in the states.
The entry of Narendra Modi in the Prime Minister’s arena was also due to the efforts of Atal Ji. He (Atal) indeed was the ‘poster boy’ of BJP, stated the India Today. It was in the name and image of Atal Bihari Vajpayee that about two dozen parties aligned with the BJP to form the NDA and the government at the Centre in 1998. Before Modi, the BJP came to power at the Centre on three occasions and each time with Vajpayee as their mascot. Vajpayee did devote his life to the country, and the BJP always gaining immensely from him during his lifetime.
While AB Vajpayee was bedridden, BJP remained oblivious to him, but now, the BJP leadership seems to have gone into overdrive to extract as much political mileage as possible out of his name, quoted the National Herald. According to the newspaper, the most prominent BJP leaders, hardly cared to call him or pay him a visit over the past decade when Atal ji was bedridden, but they now seem to have suddenly sprung into action and are busy paying homage after homage to him. The exercise began with the decision of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to carry Vajpayee’s ashes to different parts of the state. A high-profile ‘asthi-kalash yatra’ was planned for the ashes of the icon, whose heart was never in sync with the much-hyped and controversial ‘rath yatra’ led by Lal Krishna Advani in support of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, way back in 1990.
Meanwhile, the SP leader Azam Khan took a jibe at BJP’s Asthi Kalash Yatra for the deceased leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee saying that, he would die today if he gets to know he will be accorded so much respect after his death. According to Times Now the former cabinet minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) General Secretary said that he would like to die today if so much respect will be accorded to him after his death. “If I somehow get to know that I will be accorded with so much respect after death then I would like to die today itself,” he was quoted saying by the news agency ANI regarding Vajpayee’s Asthi Kalash Yatra.
Whatever the media says, it cannot be denied that people with selfish motives are trying to take an advantage of the situation. People need to wake up and vote with their gut feelings. The voters in the country are now more educated and know their rights well and we are sure that this time they will exercise their power of voting to change the existing scenario.
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IMAGE SOURCE: Financial Express | Cloudfront
