Yashwant Sinha must resign

I have nothing personal against Yashwant Sinha; in fact, I had lot of admiration for him as a senior party colleague and as someone who contributed his intellect to the party and to the country for decades. However, the respect I had is waning with every antagonising statement he is making against PM Narendra Modi. The lowest point of his public discourse was the statement he made the other day from Gujarat regarding demonetisation decision and comparing PM Modi with Tughlaq.

Yashwant Sinha’s desperation is visible, so is his disgruntlement with PM Modi personally. These random and baseless statements clearly establish that he has issues with PM Modi and not actually with the decisions he is making. One can figure that out from the personal abuse and derogatory comments he is making. It exposes the actual story that it’s not the government policies Yashwant Sinha is opposing, but the person. I lost respect, which I had for him.

It’s not wrong to disagree, disapprove or even criticise a leader. It can be a Prime Minister or a party president; however, the place, timing and choice of words matter. I don’t need to teach Yashwant Sinha the basics in party conduct; however, he seems to have conveniently forgotten them. It clearly seems, something else has overridden his conduct as a primary member of India’s largest and strongest ideological party. Only he can explain what has gone wrong.

BJP stands tall with its core ideology and organisational framework unlike other parties in India. That’s why it’s called ‘a party with a difference.’ Yashwant Sinha is not new to party’s internal discipline. The unwritten code for any BJP karyakartha is to always follow the ‘Sanghatan nirnay’ [organisation’s decisions] and that’s how this mammoth organisation is built. It’s not built on chaos of personal reactions but on willful conformation to an ideology and organisational building for decades.

There’s no shame involved in following orders in BJP organisation, as the leaders in the hierarchy are not sycophants anointed by a family member. All leaders are handpicked by a decisive leader in the hierarchy who would have risen from the system himself. On the constituency politics front, those who are elected as representatives from their respective constituencies derive utmost respect and have unchallenged freedoms within the party system. Almost all the party decisions are made after thorough discussion in forums & bodies which are constituted as per party constitution.

Whether it’s me or Yashwant Sinha or Narendra Modi, we are all just parts of this massive political organisation, which works in harmony with the larger ideology of the party. The party is above one individual’s rights and wrongs. I wish Yashwant Sinha knew at least this much, for all the time he has spent in the party in many important roles.

By doing what he is doing, he has breached his responsibility as a fundamental unit of this great organisation. He has violated the unwritten code which is followed by millions of BJP karyakarthas. In BJP organization, individuals don’t matter, what matters is the delivery of the organization as a whole to this nation. That’s how ‘Nation First’ is a core value of this organization.

One can understand a difference of opinion, even dislike to one’s leadership style, or even a personal dislike to a certain individual. However, it cannot be expressed in a way it damages the organisational process, growth and delivery.

Yashwant Sinha might not like the decisions being made by PM Modi. He might not like the composition of PM Midi’s cabinet. He might not like the decision-making style of the PM or even his leadership style. In fact, it’s not even necessary that Yashwant Sinha likes anything, which is underway in the party and in the government.

Neither the party nor the government runs on any individual’s likes, dislikes, intellectual analysis of decisions or subjective assessment of rights & wrongs. I don’t think Yashwant Sinha doesn’t understand this, but I wonder what agenda is driving him into this futile fulltime exercise of attacking his own party and the government. Both institutions run on systems and they are so well oiled to function without individual interventions, and hence the questions being raised by Yashwant Sinha outside the framework of the party look quite juvenile & pointless.

Yashwant Sinha is still a primary member of BJP. I don’t think he has written to President Amit Shah on his strong opinions, nor did he write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the decisions of the government which he is unhappy about. He has all the right to question both as a primary member of the party. Both PM Modi and Amit Shah are primary members of the party too; it’s just that they happen to have larger organisational roles currently. Yashwant Sinha too had larger roles in the party and in the government earlier. Would he then approve of the behavior which he is currently exhibiting?

Any amount of sharp, intellectual, negative analysis on demonetisation or GST by Yashwant Sinha cannot be trusted as authentic, as he is operating from a subjective prejudice against Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi. His analysis will not earn any great respect as he is still a member of BJP and he could have advised his government and party voluntarily, if he were to be so concerned. Instead, he chooses to constantly attack an institution and its leaders, which he is an active member of.

Yashwant Sinha and the likes of him should understand raising issues in public against own party leaders; party’s officially nominated and elected Prime Minister, his cabinet ministers, and elected party president is unethical, uncouth and is ideological bankruptcy. Similar expression within the party forums would have multiplied his respect amongst the party karyakarthas and might even have led to some possible corrections, if they were sincere and valid recommendations.

However, it’s too late now. Yashwant Sinha should realise that he has initiated an illogical, reprehensible and purposeless battle against his own party and government. His analytical pieces on wrong policy decisions by the government will have more value, if he were to resign from the primary membership of BJP. Trying to defeat the same side one is playing on is not just unfair but suicidal.

PM Modi and his government will continue on the massive reform path as mandated by the people of this nation. He is answerable to the voters who have given him and his party a full-five-year term to exercise his wisdom, competence and leadership to steer this nation to greatness. I firmly believe like millions of fellow Indians that PM Modi is at it.