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By Deepak Kumar Rath in Mumbai
The 25th year of BJP'sjourney was celebrated in the business capital of the country-Mumbai-with pomp and ceremony, but with care and caution so that this time no one can claim that the party is following the five-star culture. Except the senior leaders of the party and the national executive members, almost all the delegates stayed at the Rajat Jayanti Nagar in makeshift tent houses. The whole venue got a traditional Indian look. The tents were arranged in an organised manner like the RSS shivirs. ?No five star food, not many menus, and the food is very simple,? said Shri Pramod Mahajan.
This is for the first time that the pictures of Dr Hedgewar and Shri Guruji were placed on the dais of the National Executive meeting. The Silver Jubilee convention began with paying tributes to the RSS founder Dr Hedgewar and second Sarsanghachalak Shri Guruji. The working method of RSS was truely followed in the mahaadhiveshan as all the delegates paid Rs 300 each as delegate fees. Riti, niti and paddhti of the RSS were adopted in the Rajat Jayanti Nagar. As happens in the Sangh shivirs, the ideological fraternity was kept intact.
The bunch of tent houses, which was named as Sudama Niwas, could accommodate 2,900 delegates. There was a total of 385 cottages in Sudama Niwas and the dining hall was named as Sabari. The main hall of the convention was called Maharshi Vyas Sabha Griha, which was well decorated by wellknown Bollywood art director, Nitin Desai. The renowned film director, Madhur Bhandarkar helped in preparing high-tech CDs on the 25 years of BJP and a documentary on Atal Behari Vajpayee.
L.K. Advani'spresidential remarks:
BJP President L.K. Advani, in his address at the convention, welcomed the delegates and announced: ?This is going to be the last meeting of this executive, which I shall be presiding over.? Stating that the lotus has bloomed with splendour and fragrance beyond anyone'simagination, he said: ?It is in these 25 years that the single-party dominance of the Congress party has been smashed. The BJP has made spectacular strides and converted India'spolity into bi-polar polity, with the BJP and the Congress as the two principal poles of national politics.? He remembered the six years of NDA rule, in which India became a nuclear power and during that era only India'seconomy underwent a metamorphosis. In his address, he mentioned 12 defining years, which include launching of Jana Sangh in 1952, imposition of Emergency in 1975, Ram rath yatra in 1990, a six-day visit to Pakistan in 2005 where he was asked to inaugurate a project for the renovation of Katasraj temple and last was NDA'slandmark victory in Bihar elections Shri Advani compared the elections of Bihar with the Lok Sabha elections of 1977. He said each of these major events were an educative experience in its own distinctive way. ?Some brought us joy and filled us with energy. Others brought us setback, uncertainty about future and forced us to introspect?, he remarked. On the success of the party in 25 years, he said: ?Because of our faith in ourselves, our dedication, discipline, commitment and hard work, we have reached to this point.?
?Stick to ideology, strive to reach out to people? -Madan Das
?If the BJP served the people well and rectified its mistakes, the party would have a national presence. The BJP should stick to the Sangh'sideological thinking and future of the party would be bright,? said RSS Sah-Sarkaryavah Shri Madan Das while releasing the special volume on 25 years of BJP-The Journey of BJP-at Rajat Jayanti Nagar in Mumbai.
The Sah-Sarkaryavah further said even some left leaders had once commented that RSS had a greater national presence than CPM. He clarified: ?The RSS has no vested interest in meddling in the affairs of the BJP, which is not a party of individuals, but of ideology. It is an organisation of people who accept this ideology. They have the ability to solve any problem, no matter what difficulties arise.?
He reminded the BJP of the pre-eminence of the RSS. ?It is an all-India set-up. Even our rivals acknowledge our ability to do what we set to achieve.? He again clarified that RSS was motivated to say this out of concern that the BJP should emerge as a good party, play its role as an effective opposition and regain public confidence. Although BJP has to reach out to every sections of the society to grow and succeed, still ideology should be used to remove organisational weakness and then people will repose faith and confidence in the party, he advised.
Speaking on the occasion, BJP President, L.K. Advani remembered that Jana Sangh was founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who wanted the party to take inspiration from the motherland. He added that he was proud of Sangh links and he wondered what history would have been, if they had not revolted against the Janata Party leadership.
