Blaming the Congress for not giving space to "regional aspirations" and thus allowing the spawning of dynasty-run regional parties focused on only “family interests, BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday described the main Opposition party as neither national nor Indian and not a democratic either. He said, the Congress has turned into a "bhai-behen party" in an obvious reference to Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Nadda was addressing a seminar, organized by the Mumbai-based RSS-BJP-linked think tank ‘Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini (RMP) at Nehru Memorial Auditorium here, to discuss the impact of "dynasty- based political parties" on the health of democratic process in the country and “ways and means to regulate” party formation.
The recommendations will be submitted to the Election Commission of India for its consideration.
In his speech, BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, also the Vice Chairman of the RMP, said only eight of the 54 political parties recognized by the Election Commission are free of a dynastic rule which, he cautioned, was a frightening reality. Family-run parties are against the spirit of democracy, he said.
Interestingly, senior JD(U) leader and Union Minister R C P Singh, invited to the seminar , also made a no-holds-barred attack on the Congress’ choice of Jawaharlal Nehru as the country's first Prime Minister and fully backed the BJP line saying Sardar Patel had everything but he did not get the top post after Independence.
Giving a tongue-lashing to the family-run parties , Nadda said in dynastic parties one person's interest reigns supreme and that such parties are a threat to democracy. These parties lack any ideology and their sole aim is to grab power, Nadda alleged.
Nadda blamed the Congress for the growth of regional parties, accusing the main opposition party of not giving space to regional aspirations during its dominance over national politics.
The BJP, he said, on the other hand believes in "unity among diversity" and gives space to regional aspirations while keeping the centre strong. He said personality cults have become "overbearing and overwhelming" in the regional outfits, sidetracking ideology and local aspirations.
The BJP is the only party where internal democracy is maintained, Nadda sought to claim as he described the opposition party as being undemocratic.Nadda said regional family-run parties have emerged all-over the country - from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “Family interests are supreme in these parties, vitiating the election process’, he said.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said regional parties are nothing short of a "private limited" company and blamed these outfits for cases of corruption, claiming that they need money for families to maintain their absolute power.
In the Congress, he said the "prince" does not want to be the president of the party but nor does he want anyone else to take over, and the party is functioning without a head.