The right steps in Kozhikode
The BJP’s national council meet has shown maturity, sobriety and positivism
The BJP’s three-day conclave in the coastal town of Kozhikode, Kerala, has ticked all the right boxes. The party, which runs the government at the Centre, went into its national executive under a lot of pressure after the terror attack at an army base in Uri, Jammu & Kashmir. Warmongers were demanding military retribution, and the party has done well to ignore such demands. It met them midway through aggressive rhetoric against Pakistan but endorsed the government’s move to first isolate the western neighbour diplomatically. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direct outreach to the people of Pakistan at a humane level — through his address at a public rally— was an out-of-the-box idea aimed at rattling Islamabad. It might have also gone down well with the hawks at home.
The deliberations at the national council meet underscored the party’s intent to keep pace with the times and evolve from one that fiercely guarded its Rightist political space with Hindutva as the cornerstone of its ideology to one that showcases inclusiveness with the “sabka haath, sabka vikas” slogan. Addressing the party meet, Mr Modi sought to counter the BJP’s anti-minority image, quoting the late Jan Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyaya to say that Muslims are “ours”. It might take the BJP a lot more to convince the Muslims of its sincerity — given the provocations from its ideological patron, the RSS, and its affiliates — but the PM’s remarks could be the first step in that direction. Clearly, the BJP has established itself as a pan-Indian party and has no reason to go down that path. The Kozhikode conclave also saw the ruling party trying for an image makeover to counter the Opposition’s allegations of it being pro-rich and anti-Dalit. The political resolution adopted by the party’s council spoke of its commitment to end all social disparities and establish an egalitarian society, and to bring the Dalits into the mainstream of development. The BJP’s Garibi Kalyan (Welfare of the Poor) programme, like Indira Gandhi’s Garibi Hatao, should be seen in this light.
Another significant takeaway from Kozhikode was Mr Modi’s announcement that India will ratify the Paris climate agreement on October 2 — and this should calm many frayed nerves globally. There were reports that New Delhi was linking the ratification with India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). NITI Aayog deputy chairman Arvind Panagariya had said on the sidelines of the G20 summit at Hangzhou early this month that India would not be able to complete domestic procedures to ratify it before the end of 2016. Mr Modi announcement will give a big boost to the global fight against climate change.