Bengaluru: Making it clear that he expected all state leaders to pull up their socks in readiness for the coming Assembly polls, BJP national president, Amit Shah singled out senior leaders, K.S Eshwarappa and R. Ashok and Member of Parliament, Pratap Simha for failing to live up to the party’s expectations, during his three day visit to Karnataka, according to party sources.
Mr Eshwarappa reportedly received a dressing down for raising a banner of revolt against the state leadership in public. "You were getting publicity every day at the cost of the party. When a leader starts hogging the limelight this way, it hurts the party. You should have realised this," Mr Shah is quoted as saying, virtually putting the former deputy Chief Minister on notice.
Mr Ashok was pulled up for losing control of the BBMP although the BJP had won 100 seats in its council, and for not touring the state or organising major agitations against the Siddaramaiah government, going by sources.
And Mr Simha was hauled up for his poor record as youth BJP leader, according to them. "How many gheraos and agitations did you launch against the Chief Minister? Did your campaigns force the police to use water guns and tear gas? You seem to have failed to deliver as head of the yuva morcha," Mr Shah is reported to have told the MP.
He is also said to have chided the party’s women’s wing for not taking several initiatives of the NDA government like Beti Bachao, Beti Padao to the people. "When many girls are still finding it hard to go to schools in rural areas, you should have gone to them to create awareness about such schemes," he is quoted as saying.
But not everyone in the party is applauding Mr Shah’s approach of shaming senior leaders in its meetings. "He is one of the senior leaders himself and it is only incidental that he is the national president. His north Indian approach may not be liked by many here," said one senior leader.
Chiefs of district units pulled up
During his three day visit to Bengaluru, Mr Amit Shah not only pulled up senior BJP leaders, he also expressed unhappiness over the performance of BJP district presidents and general secretaries. During a meeting with district office bearers, he wanted to know about the poll preparations of second rung leaders in the districts. He also sought answers from them about the reach of centrally sponsored programmes in the districts and taluks.
The BJP chief also wanted to know if the district office bearers had conducted awareness programmes on centrally sponsored schemes but none of the district presidents could give him a satisfactory reply. He reportedly instructed the state leadership not to hesitate to sack district presidents and secretaries who do not do their job properly and wanted the district cadre to be given assignments for the next two months. He pulled up district presidents for their poor show in implementing the Vistarak programme in the districts.
