DC Debate: Allegations that party tickets were sold to criminals will mar the BJP’s Bihar prospects
Allegations that party tickets were sold to criminals will mar the BJP’s Bihar prospects
Poll dance in Bihar
Ali Anwar Vs Nand Kishore Yadav
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Ali Anwar: BJP is a party of the rich
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The BJP is trying to corporatise the election process. The situation now is such that any poor and honest person wanting to contest elections will have to either generate money or abandon all hope of winning.
Is this the same Bharatiya Janata Party that once talked about honesty, truthfulness and transparency? This is the party which still claims it is different from other political parties; their slogan is “party with a difference”. But, today, it stands exposed as the BJP’s own members, including some very prominent and senior party leaders, are pointing fingers at it, saying that the party has turned corrupt.
The BJP, unlike other political parties, is a party of the rich and has always indulged in horse-trading. It’s their habit to use people and then dump them. So we were not shocked when their own party MP from Arrah, Bihar, R.K. Singh, pointed out that the BJP was indulging in corrupt practices while distributing tickets to their candidates.
Mr Singh is someone whose words cannot be taken lightly and these are very serious allegations which, according to me, should be investigated by the Election Commission of India. Mr Singh, former Union home secretary, is known as an intelligent and honest officer. He is not one to level false allegations against anyone. Not only Mr Singh, but the BJP’s another senior leader from Bihar, Shatrughan Sinha, has also raised doubts over the party’s credibility and honesty. After allegations from their own party members, the BJP must come forward and declare their sources of funds.
Look at their rallies and public meetings — the high-tech gadgets and raths being used make your eyes widen in amazement. There was a time when political parties used to go around collecting funds from people to contest elections, but now the situation has changed. For parties like the BJP, election means heavy flow of money. This is not good for our country’s democracy.
The BJP is trying to corporatise the election process in our country. The situation now is such that any poor and honest person wanting to contest elections will have to either generate money or abandon all hope of winning. Only a few days ago, a person was seen weeping because he had sold his land and house to buy tickets from Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which is a member of the National Democratic Alliance.
On one hand the BJP talks about bringing black money stashed in foreign banks, but on the other it is selling tickets to criminals or their family members. The Bihar state government led by Nitish Kumar has always worked for good governance and has ensured that criminals are not given tickets. Even in this election, Janata Dal (United), after various levels of discussion with alliance partners, distributed tickets to their candidates. There is no trouble in the Grand Alliance.
People of Bihar are smart and they have understood the BJP’s designs. It will get a reply from the people very soon. Indulging in such practices will not help in nation building.
The BJP is in the habit of using money to buy peoples’ attention. In fact, just a few weeks ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a package for Bihar. Was
it a development package or was he trying to auction the state to win elections?
Ali Anwar is a senior JD(U) leader and the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha
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Nand Kishore Yadav: JD(U), RJD scared, frustrated
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Our supporters know the BJP’s stand on the issue of corruption and the JD(U) and RJD are scared, because they know that once our party comes to power, it will stomp out all corrupt practices from Bihar
With Assembly polls in Bihar around the corner, it is natural to face heated debates and allegations over issues unrelated to the Bharatiya Janata Party. We can understand the level of frustration of our opponents. They are snooping around, sniffing for issues, and they pounce immediately even when there’s nothing but just one slight hint, and that is what has happened.
Very few party workers are raising their voice over ticket distribution, but in the opponent camp the situation is worse. Their alliance broke up (Samajwadi Party and Nationalist Congress Party walked out of the Grand Alliance) over the distribution of tickets. Their so-called Janata Parivar chairman, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, dumped them and formed another secular group. With each passing day leaders are leaving Janata Dal (United) and joining the newly formed Third Front with a pledge to stop the Grand Alliance from coming to power.
The Grand Alliance is bereft of issues to speak on, so it has started shouting that the BJP is indulging in malpractices while distributing tickets. These are just allegations. The BJP is the only party where a committee decides the list. For us, party is more important than the individual. There is a screening committee which decides such issues after scrutinising the candidate’s background before giving him/her the nod.
Those who know our party well, also know that these allegations are false, that there’s no truth to them at all. I can understand the anger among our workers who had hoped to contest elections against the misrule of chief minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav’s jungle raj, but it is a fact that the BJP is the only party which has given tickets to maximum number of party workers.
We tried to field our sitting MLAs as well, but the fact is that this time three more parties are contesting in alliance with us and the party had to accommodate the alliance partners’ wishes as well. The allegation that Assembly tickets were being sold is baseless especially because where the issue arose is not a BJP seat.
Other parties think that by raising such issues they will succeed in ruining our prospects in the upcoming elections, but they are wrong. We will remain undeterred in our stand to end jungle raj in Bihar and take this state towards the path of development. Our supporters know our party’s stand on the issue of corruption and the JD(U) and RJD are scared, because they know that once our party comes to power, it will stomp out all corrupt practices from Bihar.
It is hilarious to see people from the Grand Alliance, particularly Mr Yadav who himself is facing corruption charges, calling the BJP corrupt. We have stepped into this election with a commitment and we will not move away from it no matter what.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a pledge to end corruption and take this nation towards development. His dream is in favour of this country and we will form a strong team in Bihar to fulfil this dream. Our party doesn’t leave anyone behind, everyone who is associated with the party’s agenda is in the team and it’s the party’s prerogative to decide a role for each worker.
Nand Kishore Yadav is a senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly
