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For the BJP, Congress is an adversary, and not an ‘enemy’ “We are a thriving multi-party democracy. The diversity of our political system is a source of strength as well as vibrancy. Since the era of the Congress party’s pan-Indian hegemony is long over, the configuration of India’s contemporary politics has become essentially bipolar at the national level with the BJP and Congress as the two principal and stable poles. Apart from these two main national parties, there are many that identify themselves with specific regional or social aspirations. Coalitions have become the order of the day both at the Centre and in many states. Some of the coalition partners are also known to switch their allegiance from time to time. This development in the last two decades has created a major challenge before our polity: how to ensure that a fragmented multi-party system, despite its inevitable pulls and pushes, can still maintain a core unity and continuity of purpose? Naturally, national parties have a greater responsibility in this regard than regional or sectional parties. Therefore, the need for a basic level of consensus amongst all parties, and especially between the two main national parties, has become paramount. Differences between the BJP and the Congress—as also between other parties—are bound to remain, since they profess different ideologies and have traversed different paths of evolution. Nevertheless, it is both possible and necessary for them to explore and expand the area of cooperation on issues of overriding national importance. For this, it is imperative that all parties inculcate the ethos of cooperation rather than confrontation, and maintain a basic level of dialogue which is not jettisoned for narrow considerations of competitive electoral politics. For the BJP and the Congress to adopt a stance of consensus on critical national issues, it is essential for each to not look at the other as an ‘enemy’. As far as the BJP is concerned, we view the Congress as an adversary, and not as an ‘enemy’. Indeed, the very concept of ‘enemy’ in a democracy is unhealthy. Unfortunately, the Congress party’s attitude to the BJP is far from healthy. The Congress leadership thinks the BJP is evil. I earnestly appeal to Congress leaders to shun such an approach.” |
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“It is against this background that I wish to present a few salient aspects of India ’s democratic tradition and our approach to conflict-resolution. This tradition and approach have been fundamentally influenced by Hindu philosophy and cultural ethos. Hindu philosophy since the dawn of our civilization has been pluralistic in its outlook and teachings. As a result, India is inherently a rare state in the international system, insofar as it is unwilling to impose a set of ideals and principles on other equally proud nations. Which is why, throughout her millennial history, India never sent out her armies to conquer other lands and exterminate or coerce the native populations or cultures. It is because of this faith in pluralism and respect for the other’s viewpoint that India , after independence, naturally accepted democracy and secularism. We did not import these from the West. Ask yourselves a simple question: Why is it that there has never been a military coup in a vast and diverse country like India, where a large section of the population is poor and less-literate? Never a violent change of power? How did India succeed in having regular elections, which are free and fair, and whose outcome has always been accepted by all political parties? Yes, there was a brief eclipse of democracy during the Emergency. But the people voted against the Emergency regime so angrily, that even a leader as tall as Indira Gandhi was defeated.” |
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Netritva is different from netagiri ‘Leadership’ is a very commonly used word, but also one which has many meanings that depend on the context and type of leadership. Leadership or ‘netritva’ in our society, especially in modern times, is generally understood as ‘political leadership’. Thus, neta is almost invariably a political neta. Netagiri is a widely prevalent phenomenon in the political process in today’s India. However, it is quite different from netritva. The latter connotes a combination of positive attributes such as vision, determination, and ability to accomplish a formidable task by mobilising a community of supporters. In contrast, the common perception of netas, which obtains in the public mind, is not a very positive one. At the same time, political leaders in India get far more attention and importance than they intrinsically deserve. The disproportionately high attention and importance that political leaders get is, in fact, at the cost what is due to leaders in other fields of national life. Leadership is a general concept, which is not specific to politics, and that leadership is needed in practically every sphere of human endeavour to achieve social progress, nation-building and welfare of the human race. |
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