Bhopal, Jyotiraditya Scindia’s maiden speech as member of the Bharatiya Janata Party was hardly a few minutes old when the videos of his previous vitriolic views on the party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were played out by several news channels to embarrass him.
It could be dismissed as an old trick in the present-day political warfare, but the stuff is too fresh in the public memory to ignore.
It wasn’t surprising then to see both Scindia and BJP President J.P. Nadda refusing to take questions.
Some enterprising political communicators chose to play some past videos of Scindia along with his latest speech at busy public places to build a campaign for Congress. One such was played at Roshanpura square here on Wednesday with the crowd jeering him on the striking contradictions.
The video clips also raised questions like why his constituency, Guna, that was the Congress’ bastion for three generations since independence, rejected them.
Scindia said he had entered political life only to serve the people of India, and that “politics was only a vehicle to achieve that goal”. The counter came in the form of a question on how he would counter persons like Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya in his new party who have been very vocal about feudal order of Scindia’s time. Some videos of Pawaiya were also played out for right effect.
When he went on to mount a series of attacks on the Kamal Nath-led government, the audience was served the recent videos of him accompanying the Chief Minister to solicit support for various schemes and admiration for Kamal Nath.
When he said that the Congress promised to waive farmers’ loans in 10 days but that is yet to happen, his own speech to the contrary was played out. Scindia added that farmers who were falsely accused in the Mandsaur firing were still languishing in prison and the immediate question was why he was standing with those who perpetrated the “atrocity” on farmers and the ones who have held back farmers’ through Centre’s machinations.
To his assertion that the corrupt have got many more opportunities under Kamal Nath government and illegal sand mafia and transfer businesses are flourishing, his own words in the Congress’ defence and his strong condemnation of Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s corrupt practices were played out. The words would echo in public mind for some time but Bhopal is not Scindia’s constituency and the retention value of what was played out could not be very high.
At his induction in the BJP at its office in New Delhi, Scindia said that there has never been an occasion when a Union government was elected with such big mandate for two consecutive times. He described the Prime Minister as futuristic and a top-class administrator.
“He has raised the prestige of India at global level. I believe India’s future is completely secure in his hands,” Scindia said.
The audience was instantly served the video in which Scindia asks what he has achieved out of his visits to 40 odd countries.
Meanwhile, welcoming him, Nadda likened Scindia’s induction to his homecoming. He praised his grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia, who from the inception of Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the BJP, was instrumental in advancing its ideology across the country.
“I welcome her grandson to the party today. I feel that ours is a very democratic party where every individual has a say. He will also get a chance to participate in party activities,” he said.
The BJP has agreed to field him as its candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and also reportedly give him a ministerial berth in Modi’s cabinet. It remains to be seen how the BJP accommodates the legislators who also resigned from the Congress with Scindia.
