The first sign of resistance and resentment among the BJP’s old guard for having been forcibly retired came on Tuesday from former party President and former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, who wrote an open letter to his constituents in Kanpur saying he has been asked to not contest the ensuing Parliamentary elections.
“Dear voters of Kanpur, Shri Ramlal, General Secretary (Organisation), Bharatiya Janata Party conveyed to me today that I should not contest the ensuing parliamentary election from Kanpur and elsewhere,” Joshi wrote in his letter.
Besides Joshi, LK Advani was similarly benched by the BJP, which replaced him in Gandhinagar by the party President Amit Shah.
As Chairman of Parliament’s Estimates Committee, Joshi has been extremely active, and some of the Committee’s observations, including on jobs, the GDP and non-performing assets, have embarrassed the government. He had made no secret of the fact that he wanted to contest again.
If Joshi decides to create a furore against the decision to retire him, it is going to embarrass the BJP in the elections. Already, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief and Delhi Chief Minister had taken to twitter to attack the BJP on disrespecting elders and how it is against “Hindu culture”.
“The way Modiji has humiliated his elders — Advaniji and Murli Manoharji — is against the Hindu culture. Hindu tradition teaches us to respect elders,” said Kejriwal on twitter. “Those who built the party have been turned out. What can anyone expect of a human being who does not belong to his own family elders? Hindu tradition does not teach us to humiliate our elders. The whole country is asking why Modiji is humiliating Advani, Joshi and Sushma (Swaraj),” the Delhi Chief Minister added, in a series of tweets.