BJP chief puts lid over blame game after Lok Sabha debacle

New Delhi, June 20 (PTI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
President Rajnath Singh on Saturday sought to put a lid over
the blame game and bickerings in the party over the Lok Sabha
(Lower House of Indian Parliament) debacle saying that success
and failure are a "collective responsibility", but
acknowledged a qualified responsibility on his part.

In the midst of calls from within on the nature of
relationship between BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)
and its reliance on Hindutva, he said Hindutva was to BJP what
Constitution is to the politics of the country and ruled out
severing links with the Sangh.

In his address to the National Executive of the party
amid demands for introspection over the debacle and fixing of
responsibility, Singh said "success is a collective credit and
failure is a collective responsibility.

"Therefore, we must collectively find out the solution.
Yes, if anyone feels that any person should take the
responsibility, then as the President of the party, I am
willing to take this responsibility."

Declaring that Hindutva is the "national essence of
India" and has been "eternal, liberal and tolerant", he
rejected suggestions that the party's policies based on the
feelings of staunch nationalism are faulty.

Singh also made it clear that ideology is a constant
which is a perpetual guiding force for a party over and above
victory or defeat in elections.

Making it clear that it had not swerved from the core
issues of Hindutva, Singh said the party's commitment remained
for building a grand temple for Lord Ram at Ayodhya,
abrogation of Article 370 and implementation of Uniform Civil
Code.

"Even today we are firm on these issues because we
believe that they are the core issues for the unity and
integrity of the country," he said.

"Hindutva / Bharatiyata / Cultural Nationalism occupies
the same esteemed space in the politics of the BJP as the
Constitution of India occupies in the politics of the
country," Singh said.

The BJP chief also told partymen that in the just
concluded elections, political parties relinquishing their
basic character had to bear losses.

Telling partymen that defeat in one or two elections
cannot deviate the party from its path, his refrain was that
changing the basic character or ideology proves to be "fatal"
for any party.

The Left parties had to bear the maximum damage as the
Left Front government in West Bengal was seen acting contrary
to their basic character on issues related to Singur and
Nandigram.

Singh's remarks came when the BJP was unsuccessful in its
attempts to come to power for the second time.

The BJP has begun the process of reviewing the election
results and soon teams from the Centre would be travelling
across the country in an attempt to understand the reasons for
the party's poor performance.

This process would culminate into a 'Chintan Baithak'
(brainstorming session) in August during which an action plan
would be drawn for the party's revival.

With the election results giving rise to blame game,
Singh who is also under attack, made special emphasis on
discipline in the organisation.

"We should keep in mind that people who have built this
party kept the organization above everything else. What
we are today is just because the interest of the organisation
has always been kept above the interests and aspirations of
individuals," he said.

Singh stressed all the state units of the party will have
to ensure that the disciplinary mechanism and its principles
are upheld with full commitment.

At the outset, he said the results were not up to our
expectations.

"The people have once again given us the mandate to sit
in opposition. We accept the verdict with humility and will
once more resume our work. While we may be surprised by the
results, we are certainly not demoralised by them," Song
said.

In an obvious reference to suggestions that it should
snap links with the RSS, Singh said "if someone advises us to
sever ourselves from our very roots and remain attached only
to the stem, in my opinion, they are themselves confused and
have not been able to understand the basic core of the BJP."

He said there might have been some shortcomings in the
dedication and action by the party. "With time, we need to do
away with these shortcomings," the BJP chief said.

At the same time, he sought to allay apprehensions in the
minds of partymen about the future and recalled the lines of a
poem by BJP patriarch Atal Bihari Vajpayee in which he had
said that in victory or loss, he was undaunted.

Noting that BJP would work as an "effective opposition",
Singh said "the responsibility entrusted upon us by the people
is not ordinary. I would like to make it clear that the
Congress now cannot shirk from its responsibilities. It can no
longer take the alibi of its allies."

He sought to dismiss the "widespread propaganda" that BJP
had faced defeat nationwide.

"I do not accept this, because if we analyse the results
regionally, then the results are varied and not uniform from
state to state," Singh said.

Expressing concern that only 37 of the sitting Lok Sabha
members of the party were re-elected, he said that a concrete
and effective plan will have to be made so that the image of
the people's representatives is improved. PTI RC
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