Why Some Right-wingers Are Sceptical of Arun Jaitley_ a Right-winger’s View
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12/5/2014 Why some rightwingers are sceptical of Arun Jaitley: A rightwinger’s view data:text/html;charset=utf8,%3Ch1%20style%3D%22boxsizing%3A%20borderbox%3B%20fontsize%3A%202em%3B%20margin%3A%200.67em%20… 1/4 Why some rightwingers are sceptical of Arun Jaitley: A rightwinger’s view By Kaushik Arun Jaitley is no stranger to the scathing criticism of the online right‑wing. He is an impressive orator and is also known to be an effective political operative, but doubts about his loyalty to BJP have always lingered. At times he seemed to be politicking for his own ends, which do not necessarily line up with what is good for the party at large. Arun Jaitley continues to cause a storm online even now. Before the new government was formed, it was a common left‑liberal refrain to say Narendra Modi is a polarizing character. But after BJP’s comfortable victory, some of us find that Arun Jaitley has become a polarizing character, someone who has divided the right wing. His very intention is being questioned, and I wonder if we should continue to give him the benefit of doubt. We have no patience left for his aristocratic ways. Arun Jaitley has always been moderately popular. He has never been a politician of the masses, simply because he never took the effort. He is an intelligent and powerful politician who likes to operate in the dark alleys of Delhi’s power circuit. His skill of articulation backed by in‑depth knowledge has given him the image of a master‑ strategist. To me, he has always belonged to the Delhi clique, representing the ‘coterie culture’. All leaders enjoy surrounding themselves with yes‑men who provide ego‑massages and also act as messengers or gatekeepers, but not all of them stop communicating with others. Jaitley is not one of them. He might be nice to the people around him, but he is reserved and reveals little to those outside his coterie. This has become fertile ground for conspiracy theories. A lot was expected from him in his role as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Many of us who were overawed by his articulation on various subjects were naturally expecting fireworks from him in the parliament. But while Jaitley, along with Leader
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Transcript of Why Some Right-wingers Are Sceptical of Arun Jaitley_ a Right-winger’s View
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WhysomerightwingersarescepticalofArunJaitley:Arightwingersview
ByKaushik
ArunJaitleyisnostrangertothescathingcriticismoftheonlinerightwing.Heisanimpressiveoratorandisalsoknowntobeaneffectivepoliticaloperative,butdoubtsabouthisloyaltytoBJPhavealwayslingered.Attimesheseemedtobepolitickingforhisownends,whichdonotnecessarilylineupwithwhatisgoodforthepartyatlarge.
ArunJaitleycontinuestocauseastormonlineevennow.Beforethenewgovernmentwasformed,itwasacommonleftliberalrefrainto
sayNarendraModiisapolarizingcharacter.ButafterBJPscomfortablevictory,someofusfindthatArunJaitleyhasbecomeapolarizingcharacter,someonewhohasdividedtherightwing.Hisveryintentionisbeingquestioned,andIwonderifweshouldcontinuetogivehimthebenefitofdoubt.Wehavenopatienceleftforhisaristocraticways.
ArunJaitleyhasalwaysbeenmoderatelypopular.Hehasneverbeenapoliticianofthemasses,simplybecausehenevertooktheeffort.HeisanintelligentandpowerfulpoliticianwholikestooperateinthedarkalleysofDelhispowercircuit.Hisskillofarticulationbackedbyindepthknowledgehasgivenhimtheimageofamasterstrategist.
Tome,hehasalwaysbelongedtotheDelhiclique,representingthecoterieculture.Allleadersenjoysurroundingthemselveswithyesmenwhoprovideegomassagesandalsoactasmessengersorgatekeepers,butnotallofthemstopcommunicatingwithothers.Jaitleyisnotoneofthem.Hemightbenicetothepeoplearoundhim,butheisreservedandrevealslittletothoseoutsidehiscoterie.Thishasbecomefertilegroundforconspiracytheories.
AlotwasexpectedfromhiminhisroleastheLeaderofOppositioninRajyaSabha.Manyofuswhowereoverawedbyhisarticulationonvarioussubjectswerenaturallyexpectingfireworksfromhimintheparliament.ButwhileJaitley,alongwithLeader
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ofOppositioninLokSabha,didtakeupissuesagainstCongressfromtimetotime,onthewholehewasineffective.
TheproblemrosefromthefactthathelockedhimselfupwithhiscoterieintheParliament.ApartfromspeakinginsidetheParliament,theywouldnotindulgeinanyothermajorforum.Theywerenotseeninthecourtsorthestreets.Therewasanobvious,wideninggapbetweentheleadershipandkaryakartas.NitinGadkarididbringaboutafewchangeswhenhetookoverfromRajnathSingh.HehitthestreetswithroadshowsandChaloSansadcampaignstoembarrasstheUPAgovernment.Buthewasoustedsoonenough.
RightwingershavealwaysbelievedthatallpowerinBJP,whileitwasintheopposition,layinthehandsofthefourpeopleclosetoMr.Advani,hispoliticaldisciples.WhobelongedtotheD4dependedonwhoyouspoketo,butSushmaSwarajandArunJaitleywereconstant.TheD4wasoftenheldresponsiblefortargetingleaderslikeBSYeddyurappa,causingimmenseharmtotheparty.Therealitywillneverbeknown,butperceptionsmatter.TheD4,especiallyJaitley,wasalsoperceivedtobegoingeasyovertheCongress.
Itistrue,though,thattheyhadnootheroption.Theywerelazynodoubt,butthenumberswithBJPinthehousemeanttherewaslittletheycoulddointheParliamenttomakeadentonthegovernment.ItwasoftenbelievedthatallBJPleaderswerespiedonbytheNTROinSoniasrule.BJPdidnothaveadequatepowertofightbacksotheycouldhaveadoptedthestrategyofplayingniceonlysotheycouldlivetofightanotherday.Butforthosewithlittleatstake,thisbecameanunacceptablebehavior.Moreover,suchcozinessbredfurtherconspiracytheories.
SuchperceptionshaveerodedanygoodfaithJaitleyenjoyedamongstmanyrightwingers.Hewasnotseendoingenough.Hewasnotseenlettinghimselfbemartyredfortherightwingcause.WhilehewasanimportantpartoftheModicampaign,andisalsocalledModisChanakya,partyworkersneverhadaconsensusoverhim.
TherewerefurthercomplicationswiththeentryofDr.SubramaniamSwamyintotheBJP.ManykaryakartasfoundhopeinSwamy.Hewasvocal,viciousandtookmatterstothecourt.OvernighthebecameaheroforasizablechunkinTheBJP.HewasembarrassingtheCongressandseemedmorepowerfulthantheleadersofBJP.
Today,everythingisassessedbytheseearliercomparisonsbetweenSwamyandotherBJPleaders.Beforetheelections,SwamysdiehardsupportersexpectedhimtogetaseatfromanurbanconstituencylikeDelhiorMumbai.Hewasnotgivenaseat,soitwasbelievedthatModihadaspecialrolecutoutforhim.
Aftertheresultswereannounced,therewasonlymoredisappointmentforSwamy
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andhissupporters.WhenevenunknownfacesoftheBJPwononthebackofaModiwave,Jaitleylost.Hislosswasexpectedtoreducehischancesofaministerialberth.Buthegottwoofthebigfourministriesandanothersmallerministrytoo.
ForSwamyssupportersthisisabreachoftrust.EventhoughSwamyworkedtirelesslyforModi,hehasnotbeengivenwhathedeserves.Thebitternessoftherightwinghasrootshere.
Jaitleyhasunfortunatelybeendisappointingtherightwing,beginningwiththeDefenceMinistrysaffidavitintheDalbirSinghSuhagcase.ThiswasaclearUturnbyJaitleyasbeforetheelectionsheopposedthegovernmentappointmentofSuhag.
NotonlydidJaitleycleartheappointmentofDalbirSinghSuhag,buttheaffidavitthatwassubmittedinthecourtwassameonepreparedbytheUPA,whichsquarelyputtheblameforinvestigationofSuhagonpremeditatedintentionsofFormerCoASGen.VKSingh,whoisnowJaitleysfellowMinister.
IfSwamyhadfoughtthecorruptioncasesincourtsandwonhearts,Gen.VKSinghdidsobyraisingnationalsecurityconcernsofmultipledimensionsatgravepersonalrisk,whileinuniformandatanembarrassinglyheavyprice.Hehadwontheheartsofmillionsandthisshowedinhishighmarginelectoralvictory.
So,attackingandembarrassingamanlikeGen.VKSingh,whoisseenasanuprightmanbyamajority,causedasuddenshock.Divisionsweresharperthaneverbefore.JaitleyisbeingsuspectedofcarryingforwardCongressagendainBJPGovt.AndithaslooksconvincingsinceheisclosetotheGandhifamily,ManmohanSinghandChidambaram.
Asifthiswasnotenough,JaitleydidaUturnonHendersonBrooksReporton1962War.HewasaMinisterinNDAs1stTenure,thattooinLawMinistry.Onewouldassumehehadagoodchancetoreaditthen.Evenifnot,hehadachancetoreadatleastthosehundredpagesreleasedbyNevilleMaxwell.Heevenbloggedaboutit,askingforittobereleased.Butonceinpower,hechangedhistune.
HisresponsetotheSwissNationalBankissuewasalsonotappropriate.HeseemedtohaveacceptedtheversiongivenbythebankthattherewasnonewdataavailableonIndiaaccountholders.Doesthatmeanalltheaggressiononblackmoneyissuebeforeelectionswashumbug?
Dr.Swamyhasalsomadeaveryseriousrequesttheotherday,aboutlawyerMPsofBJPdisclosingthelistofMNCs,fromwhomtheyreceiveretainerfees.Itiswellknownthatthepricetonottakeupafightagainstaclientisalwaysmorethanthepriceoftakingupafightfortheclient.Inspiteofgivinguppracticeonpaper,whenlawfirmsoftheMPsarerunbytheirfamilymembers,itisacommonsensewhatthey
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areupto.Thisisbyfar,thedeadliestattackonJaitley,butisboundtofadeaway.
Onthewhole,whileitisclearlyaSwamyvs.Jaitleyfight.Forusrightwingers,theimpressionthatJaitleyisaheadworkertrustedbythePMremains,butthegoodwilltogeneratemasssupportisstillmissing.Maybe,MrJaitleywilltakethisintoaccount.
Theopinionsexpressedinthisarticlesarethepersonalopinionsoftheauthor.TheNewsMinuteisnotresponsiblefortheaccuracy,completeness,suitabilityorvalidityofanyinformationinthisarticle.Theinformation,factsoropinionsappearinginthisarticledonotreflecttheviewsofTheNewsMinuteandTheNewsMinutedoesnotassumeanyliabilityonthesame.
