Thiruvananthapuram: The general feeling in BJP circles is that the party was not able to demonstrate its presence during the state's greatest moment of crisis. The cooperative silence during the rescue mission was understandable, even ethical. But no questions – be it about dam management or relief assistance or even the salary challenge - were aggressively raised by the top BJP leadership even after the waters receded.
To begin with, the involvement of the Centre had the BJP state leadership in a spot. In many instances, the state BJP was caught in a limbo — they could neither be here nor there. The Centre's refusal to accept Saudi Arabia's reported offer of Rs 700 crore, which provoked widespread anger in the state, was one. Adding to the state unit's embarrassment was the Centre's perceived reluctance to loosen its purse strings to save the ravaged state. The state unit's energy was expended more on defending the Centre than speaking out for the flood-affected.
The party was not able to take up the dam management issue, too. State president P S Sreedharan Pillai had begun to make some noises about the whimsical manner in which the KSEB had stored water in its reservoirs. He had even put up a Facebook post on the issue. But, virtually issuing him a gag order, the Central Water Commission came out with a report that said the floods were caused by high-intensity rains and not by water released from the dams.
Death of former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee on August 16, at the peak of the crisis, might have also distracted the party. The BJP's virtual absence in the Assembly, too, had affected its visibility. The most prominent leaders during the floods, apart from the chief minister, were the ones representing the affected regions: CPM's Saji Cherian (Chengannur) and Raju Abraham (Ranni), Congress's V D Satheesan (Paravur), and Kerala Congress's Roshy Augustine (Idukki).
Lost in generalities
All of this, especially the Centre's role, had combined to strip the BJP's political message of clarity. The high point of the party's counter was a 'dharna' staged in front of the secretariat on September 14 to protest the government handling of the flood relief. Not a single specific charge was levelled. All that the party had instead were a set of general demands: complete the distribution of compensation on a war footing, put in place an all-party supervisory committee to prevent discrimination in distribution of flood assistance and order a judicial inquiry into the government's negligence.
Seva Bharathi's role
Top BJP leaders, however, vehemently object to the charge that the party was not visible during the relief and rescue mission. The party was indeed present, but by way of association. “Seva Bharathi, a Sangh Parivar outfit, was perhaps the most active organisation during the rescue period,” a top BJP leader said.
But Seva Bharathi, though it had played a huge role in collecting and reaching relief supplies to affected areas, lost a bit of sheen when it tried to impose its presence at relief centres. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in response to Seva Bharathi's aggressive volunteering, had banned people from entering relief camps with badges of NGOs or private organisations stuck on their chests. “Relief camps are run by the governments and not by NGOs,” the chief minister had said in a veiled reference to Seva Bharathi.
Seva Bharathi had even claimed that it had taken over nearly 300 camps. Later, Seva Bharathi state president K Prasanna Murthy said all the organisation's flood-related activities would be coordinated with the state government. “No NGO can hope to do anything without the government's support,” Murthy said. Ironically, there were reports that DYFI volunteers had taken over the running of certain relief camps without any badges on.
Non-stop pressers
The state president's style of functioning has also been criticised. Sreedharan Pillai has perhaps conducted the most number of press conferences by any leader in the month after the floods. (Party insiders whisper that his initials P S stand for 'pathra sammelanam') These press conferences are in addition to the Facebook posts he religiously puts out on a daily basis. “Still, he is less heard than, say, a Ramesh Chennithala. There could be a media bias here. Yet, the president should rethink his press strategy,” a top BJP leader said.
Sreedharan Pillai's major failing, many point out, was his inability to scientifically respond to the crisis. “It was right to keep silent during the flood. But once the water had receded, the party should have set up a committee of experts and asked them to produce a report. This report should have been the basis of the party's political argument,” a top leader said.
Who is T G Mohandas?
The convenor of BJP's intellectual cell, T G Mohandas, tosses aside the charge that the party was not aggressive in taking on the government. “It was me who first approached the High Court seeking a judicial inquiry into the issue. It appeared in the morning newspapers but they said the petition was filed by one T G Mohandas. My BJP connection was not mentioned. Even opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala started talking about a judicial inquiry after we had filed the petition,” Mohandas said.
