Maharashtra BJP sorely needs a refresher course

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 Ravikiran Deshmukh Bhagat Singh Koshyari, BJP, CBI, ED, Gopinath Munde, Kirit Somaiya, Maha Vikas Aghadi, Mantralay, Narendra Modi, NIA, P C Alexander, Pravin Darekar, Raj Bhavan, Uddhav Thackeray

Yet another controversy over the recent letter by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray only reveals that the relations between the Raj Bhavan and Mantralaya never reached such a nadir. Surely, the state is passing through the worst phase of relations between the two important institutions in our democratic setup.

Even though he has his roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and even though he also headed the BJP government in Uttarakhand, Governor Koshyari has no reason to take a personal interest in state politics. But a strong possibility is that the state BJP is trying to use him to corner the MVA government. Because, the tone and tenor of the letters written by him smack of the BJP’s political line aimed at targeting the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comprising Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress.

Even the recent letter by the governor underscores the role of the BJP. His previous letter on reopening the temples and Thackeray’s strongly-worded rejoinder also viewed in the same vein. The recent letter is not much different and asks the government to convene a special session of the state legislature to discuss the rising incidents of atrocities against women in recent times.

CM scored a political point

The news broke along with the reply by Chief Minister Thackeray. The CM usurped the opportunity to score a political point narrating similar or more serious incidents from the states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Delhi. Since it has become a nationwide problem, you (the governor) should write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah instead to call a special session of Parliament, said Thackeray.

The CM’s reply appears sharper and focused, backed with good homework. The team, at the disposal of the CM, did their job carefully with maximum details from the BJP-ruled states and Delhi where the police are under the direct control of the union home ministry. The letter by the governor and issues he raised somehow failed to raise a pitch against the state government but instead brought Raj Bhavan into poor light.

Tenure of P. C. Alexander must be remembered

Looking back at the relations between the Raj Bhavan and Mantralaya, Maharashtra has some good precedents. A recent example can be given that of P. C. Alexander, who spent close to nine and half years at the Raj Bhavan. During his tenure, he worked with the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government for five years, but without any noticeable differences. It’s a known fact that Alexander had a close association with late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

On this backdrop, the tenure of the present governor is volatile and under a constant spotlight, be it over nominating 12 members to the state legislative council or few other issues. The union government should review the role of the governor and relations with the state government. A decorum has to be maintained since the present governor will demit office once his tenure is over but the prestige of the Raj Bhavan has to be preserved.

Need of retrospection

The state unit of the BJP needs to retrospect and review its performance as the party in opposition. Any attempt to derive pleasure from the letters written by the governor will only expose the party further. The state BJP stalwarts should not forget the performance during the 80s when they barely had 14-15 members in the state legislative assembly. But, the seasoned members such as Ram Kapse, Ram Naik, Premkumar Sharma, and others performed exceedingly well and became the voice of the people.

Performance of Gopinath Munde

For the state assembly elections held in 1990, the party saw 42 members getting elected. When Manohar Joshi had to resign as the Leader of Opposition following a historic split in Shiv Sena, BJP’s Gopinath Munde occupied the chair. Munde’s tenure as the Leader of the Opposition is known as one of the best in the history of the state legislature. Munde waged a fierce political battle against the then Congress government led by maverick Sharad Pawar.

Munde’s political fight and fiery speeches by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray saw Shiv Sena and BJP wrest reins of power from Pawar in the 1995 elections. The present lot of leaders of BJP should have a relook at the performance delivered by its predecessors.

BJP cannot bank on central agencies

This is needed because even after two and a half years of the present government coming to power, the opposition does not seem to have delivered a remarkable performance to put the ruling MVA on the mat. The party cannot take shelter under the recent investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the Income Tax Department. Crying foul over the investigations, the ruling coalition is alleging those as vindictive moves by the BJP-led central government.

Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya appears at the forefront and raises cases of alleged misappropriation by the ministers and other leaders of the MVA. How far this is going to benefit the BJP, nobody can predict because the issues raised by Somaiya before 2014 never appeared on the radar of the BJP-led government to investigate further. Several controversial issues raised by him went into oblivion. BJP’s success in 2014 has much to do with the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

These days, Somaiya is seen visiting a few locations where the alleged misappropriation took place, such visits do not lead to a thorough investigation or help the cases reach their logical end. Instead of such moves, mostly undertaken to attract media glare, the Opposition can work on issues faced by commoners, do some homework and expose the policies of the government.

Apart from the cases being investigated by the central agencies, the MVA government never appeared as perturbed by the BJP’s performance. Indeed, there are some pressing issues faced by commoners but the opposition has not raised it to embarrass the government for the reasons best known to BJP leaders.

There is no denying the fact that the government does not seem to take the BJP seriously. If it was not the fact, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would have promptly responded to the letters written from time to time by the Leaders of Opposition- Devendra Fadnavis and Praveen Darekar. Not just that the MVA government has avoided inviting Fadnavis to the inauguration ceremonies of projects launched when he was heading the previous government. This is worth noting.