Gadkari rubs it in: Govt hiring Maoist supporters as advisers (read NAC)

Escalating the attack on the UPA,BJP president Nitin Gadkari,in a veiled reference to the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi...

Escalating the attack on the UPA,BJP president Nitin Gadkari,in a veiled reference to the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi,has accused the government of hiring as its advisers people who openly support Maoists.

Speaking to Shekhar Gupta,Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express,on NDTV 24×7s Walk the Talk,Gadkari alleged that many high-profile advisers of the government were known supporters of Naxalites and Maoists. Asked whether he was referring to the NAC,he declined to take names.

I dont want to pinpoint anyone. I dont want to create a controversy by taking anybodys name. But tell me,can people who support Naxalites and Maoists become advisers of the government on sensitive matters. Where are we headed? he said.

Whether it is the NAC or any other committee,it is the governments democratic right to consult or seek advice from whoever it deems fit. I dont have any objection to that. But on the one hand,while the government is fighting this tendency,which is harmful to democracy and society,people who support the same tendency have become members of the committee which advises the government. How can this work?

He said there was nothing wrong with his statement that the Congress was treating Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru like its son-in-law. What is unparliamentary about the word son-in-law? Sons-in-law are given special treatment and I only asked why Afzal is being given special treatment, he said.

There is a saying topi fit baith jaati hai (the cap fits). My comment was also on the mark. Topi fit baith gayi… that is why they (Congress) got angry. They lost their temper.

The Congress,he said,was playing vote-bank politics by delaying the execution of Afzal Guru. Referring to reports that former Home Minister Shivraj Patil had asked the Delhi government to sit on the mercy plea of Afzal,he said Patil would not have done it on his own. The (Congress) high command might have told him, he said.

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If the government cannot execute the verdict of the Supreme Court,then it should do away with the practice of the death sentence itself by passing an Act in Parliament, he said.

On the organisational front,Gadkari admitted that the BJP image had taken a beating because of the tendency of some leaders to go public with disagreements on issues. I have controlled it almost 80 per cent. If the limit is crossed,I will not hesitate to take stern steps howsoever big the leader… No one is supreme, he said.

He said those leaders who do not share his views can come to me and criticise me… but to speak to the media off-the-record,say something in public after that,and then to say that he does not agree… mutual trust and discipline is essential.

On the charge that he was an RSS dummy,Gadkari said: I am not anybodys dummy… I have full powers. He said he was proud of his association with the RSS. The Sangh fountainhead,he said,did not interfere with his functioning or that of the the party.

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He said the alliance with the JD(U) was intact despite the recent strain and maintained that one had to forget the past and move on. On core BJP issues like the Ram temple and the uniform civil code,he said these formed the conviction of the party. But he indicated that these could be placed on the backburner for running an alliance.

We have not dumped issues like Article 370 or the uniform civil code. These issues are part of our conviction. But there is a difference between conviction and strategy. Conviction is never related to strategy. There is no compromise on conviction and ideology,but strategy can change from time to time, he said,making clear that the BJP would not be able to implement its core ideas till it secured a majority on its own.