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The Rediff Interview/Jana K Krishnamurthy

'The Sangh Parivar has no role to play in governance'

Nine months after it came to power at the Centre, the Bharatiya Janata Party is taking stock. Though Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has stepped into the New Year with fresh pledges and an aggressive posture, he needs the blessings of the party leadership to go ahead with a host of policy decisions that the government will be forced to take in the coming days.

Vajpayee's biggest headache now is the Sangh Parivar, which is dissatisfied with the coalition government's failure to protect the forces of Hindutva that helped the BJP come to power last year. Bones of contention include Article 370, the enactment of a uniform civil code, and the construction of a Ram temple at the site where the Babri Masjid was located in Ayodhya.

On his part, the prime minister has to reassure the minorities after the increasing number of attacks on Christians in Gujarat and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's agitation against churches and missionaries in north and north-east India.

Therefore, what the prime minister and the BJP leadership might consider at the national executive meeting being held in Bangalore is whether the party should distance itself from the Parivar.

Helping Vajpayee and the leadership evolve a "new-look BJP" is party vice-president Jana K Krishnamurthy.

"Appeasement of none and justice for all. This is our pledge in 1999," Krishnamurthy said in an interview with George Iype at Bangalore. Excerpts:

The prime minister has either kept in abeyance or abandoned many demands of the Sangh Parivar incorporated in the BJP's election manifesto. Can the government go on like this -- with its angry allies and a dissatisfied Parivar?

There have been differences of opinion between our allies and us on many occasions. But if you just look back at the past two months, you will realise that our alliance partners have become happier.

When the government came to power, we never promised that governance would be smooth. It is difficult. There are divergent views, opinions, and when we take policy decisions we have to find a consensus. So we cannot help it if you blow out of proportion these differences in the media.

The Sangh Parivar does not have any demands different from that of the BJP. We are part of the family and our demands are the same.

But the government has kept quiet on issues like the scrapping of Article 370 and the Ram temple.

Yes, these issues are very much under consideration. These demands can be fulfilled only the BJP comes to power on its own. Now ours is a coalition government and we cannot go on implementing policies and programmes without the coalition partners' agreement.

The Sangh Parivar seems to have become a source of embarrassment for the government. How will the BJP tackle this?

We are not embarrassed. I think it is the newspapers that are embarrassed. The prime minister and the BJP leadership have said time and again that the Sangh Parivar has no role to play in governance. It is the BJP and its coalition partners who are responsible for taking policy decisions and governing the country. Can you cite even one instance when the Sangh Parivar has interfered in the functioning of the Vajpayee government?

Certainly there may be differences of opinion on major national issues. Even in a family, there are differing points of view between the parents and children. So do not read too much into those so-called differences between the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.

Hasn't the hue and cry over the Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill tarnished the government's image?

No. In fact, the debate within the party, the Sangh and our coalition partners over the insurance policy has been so healthy that Finance Minister Yashwant Singh has been able to achieve a near consensus on the issue.

We are not against foreign investment in infrastructure. But we demand that precautions should be taken when taking crucial decisions in the insurance area. Insurance is a sector where the lives of millions of Indians are at stake. We cannot allow foreign companies to take our Indians for a ride in the name of foreign investment.

There is still a fear in our party that opening up insurance is not a good idea. The simple reason is that foreign capital investment in the sector is very low, but the capital outflow from the country will be quite high.

In fact, if insurance is opened up, there is a danger that foreign companies will take the money out of the country. We want to ensure that the provisions of the insurance bill should ensure that no foreign company can loot the country in the name of insurance.

The BJP and the Vajpayee government have a lot of explaining to do to the minority communities, especially after the attacks on Christians in Gujarat.

We feel a concerted effort is being made by our political enemies to tarnish our image by propagating that our government is anti-minority. The attacks against Christians in Gujarat are isolated incidents, but it is regrettable that communal motives are being attributed to them.

There is no communal trouble between Christians and Hindus in Gujarat. Local issues have contributed to some criminal incidents and the government and the BJP have condemned it. The government has also taken swift action by sending a home ministry team to the state and investigating the attacks.

We took prompt action against the culprits who gang-raped four nuns in Madhya Pradesh in September. But kindly note that 12 out of the 24 arrested people in the nuns' rape case were tribal Christians. So how can our opponents claim that Hindus are solely responsible for attacks against Christians in Gujarat and other north Indian states?

But the VHP has been making statements against the church and Christian missionaries. Hasn't that contributed to the flare-up in Gujarat?

VHP is an independent organisation. It has its own agenda. The BJP and the Vajpayee government have nothing to do with what the VHP says and does. It is ridiculous to link the VHP statements with our government at the Centre. We are not against any religion in the country. Our motto is appeasement of none and justice for all. Therefore, we will ensure social harmony in every state across the country.

How are you going to redefine the party's relationship with the government at the Centre?

The party's relation with the Vajpayee government is smooth. But we are evolving mechanisms to ensure better co-ordination between the party and the government.

Are you evolving similar mechanisms to sort out the problems created by your coalition partners?

Our allies are not creating problems now. They have opposed certain decisions of the government. But that is a healthy trend because we can progress only through debate and consensus. The media always said AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha is our biggest trouble-maker. But don't you see that she has been keeping quiet now? She is happy with the Vajpayee government and we are also happy with her support. So is the case with all other coalition partners.

Initially we had problems with the allies because we were new to coalition politics and government. But now we have become masters of coalition politics. Therefore, our government at the Centre is stable.

Is it because Vajpayee has become more assertive within the party and with coalition partners?

What is wrong in Vajpayee becoming more and more assertive? We are very happy that the prime minister is becoming more assertive and that his government is taking crucial decisions.

Do you expect the government to complete 1999?

We expect that the Vajpayee government will complete its full term. We are actually beginning to perform in 1999. If the government has withstood all the teething problems in the past nine months, it is an indication that it will not collapse in 1999.

BJP considers ways to rein Sangh Parivar in

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