Rumours are a right reason to revile BJP

Selecting the next Rashtrapati

Nothing very unusual. After all, the BJP leaders have made a habit of marching up the Raisina Hill, with this or that complaint against the United Progressive Alliance Government.
Stereotyping the BJP. BJP's actions are treated with utter contempt.

This silence and media blackout are so out of sync with the BJP's habits and preferences ...
Yet another categorization.

... have sparked considerable speculation in political circles. The only hint came from the BJP president, Mr. Rajnath Singh, who was reported to have said in Varanasi that the party could support President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for a second term.
speculation, hint, could -- so it is just rumours now.

it would appear that the BJP has taken the first — and a unilateral — step towards politicising the selection of the next President, an event still a good seven months away. The BJP and rest of its political friends in the National Democratic Alliance do not have the numbers in the Presidential Electoral College to get their "man" elected, without support either from the Congress and its allies or from the Left Front.
Start with blaming the BJP. It is surprising how the Congress can get their "man" elected to Governor posts and unconstitutionally install goverments and still get away with it. CBCNN, which condones any Congress action, is ruthless against the BJP.

If the BJP leadership thinks Mr. Kalam deserves a second term, it has not deemed it necessary to begin the process of consultation towards evolving a consensus on his candidature. Instead, it has engaged in one-upmanship, dragging the President into partisan politics. In the process, the BJP has only deepened the suspicion in non-BJP quarters that the President reciprocates the party's partisan claims on him.

unilateral, one-upmanship, partisan politics, partisan President - all this on the suspicion that BJP is supporting Kalam for second term. Any official statement? No. And leaving aside all this name calling, can Comrade Harish Khare tell us why Kalam should not be supported for second term? No, you cant expect any sensible argument from this bigoted mind. As Com. Khare mentions, "... necessary to begin the process of consultation towards evolving a consensus on his candidature." includes consultation with Kalam. Kalam expressed his concerns for a second term. So in this meeting, the BJP might have discussed with Kalam to see if the concerns can be addressed. This is speculation too. But my point here is Comrade Khare is speculating to suit his agenda of BJP-Bashing.

Given the current stranglehold of cunning and cleverness on the party's collective thought process, it is quite possible that the BJP leaders have given in to the temptation of scoring a few brownie points in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
CBCNN claims it is a champion of reason above emotion. But as you can see, this article is an emotional outburst of hatred with no room for rational thought.

the party remains opposed to any attempt to ameliorate the Muslims' conditions as an exercise in appeasement,
Projecting BJP as anti-muslim.

Low thinking, after all, is the fashion of the day.
But, you might ask, where is Comrade Khare displaying any high thinking?

dictated by electoral manoeuvring in a province.
Granted. But I am still waiting to hear why Kalam should not get a second term. What have you got to offer in this long article, Khare, apart from BJP bashing.

The Congress, then in the Opposition, was not averse to the idea (of Narayanan's second term) but knew that the decision had to be unanimous and that the major initiative should come from the ruling party.
It appears that Congress initiated the discussion on second term for Narayanan, who was a "secular" antidote to Sangh Parivar and BJP. While that move is justified by Comrade Khare, he is coming down heavily on BJP now.

It is difficult to avoid the impression that if the BJP leadership is willing to violate the "no second term" convention in favour of Mr. Kalam, it is only because it has concluded that the incumbent President has demonstrated a (healthy and desirable) willingness to embarrass the UPA Government. In the sangh parivar-manufactured political folklore, it was President Kalam who stymied Sonia Gandhi's prime ministerial ambition by asking her for "citizenship" papers. ... It has been noted that Rashtrapati Bhavan has rarely acted to deny the NDA's partisan interpretations of the presidential views on this or that political quarrel of the day.

Comrade Khare in a very verbose style lays the following allegations on President:
- He demonstrated a healthy and desirable willingness to embarass the UPA Government.
- He stymied Sonia Gandhi's prime ministerial ambition by asking her for "citizenship" papers.
The second one is an unpardonable crime by our "secular" standards.
Finally, we know why Comrade Khare is opposing Kalam: he is not "secular".

Comrade Khare indulges in character assasination of anyone who does not belong to "his camp. This is what he calls President Abdul Kalam:
- He is a source of comfort to the "enemies" of Prime Minister.
- He does not have a vision of presidency under the constitution.
- He is partisan.


Finally, let me summarize here how Comrade Harish Khare, based on speculative reports, passes judgement on BJP:
- Senior BJP leaders regularly troop to Rashtrapati Bhavan just for the heck of it.
- BJP leaders are habitual hell raisers
- BJP leaders always keep complaining about something or the other. They are just a nuisance.
- BJP constantly seeks media attention.
- BJP is politicising non-issues
- BJP seeks to get its "men" in position of power.
- BJP is unilateral, indulges in one-upmanship, partisan politics and does believe in evolving consensus through consultation.
- BJP is cunning and clever.
- BJP is only interested in scoring brownie points.
- BJP does noting to ameliorate the condition of muslims calling it appeasement.
- It is hawkish.
- It is low-thinking.
- It is indulging in political manoeuvring.
- BJP's only desire is to embarass UPA.
- It is involving Rashtrapati Bhavan in politics.
- BJP disrupts Parliament's institutional rythm.