The Yogi Adityanath government’s “vengeful” attitude towards the anti-citizenship-act protesters has dismayed several central BJP leaders, who also fear that the current leadership’s confrontational style of functioning could lead the country to a crisis.
“Adityanath’s ‘revenge’ comment was improper. This isn’t how a chief minister should speak. This has never been the culture of BJP leaders,” a senior party leader said.
He said that many others in the party too felt that the central leadership should have pulled Adityanath up for his comments.
A couple of party veterans also queried home minister Amit Shah’s role, saying the widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act were ignited primarily by the “unnecessary” and “chest-thumping” promise for a nationwide National Register of Citizens.
Adityanath had said his government would take “revenge” on those who had resorted to violence during the protests and force them to compensate the damage caused to property.
Adityanath’s police have served notices on over 250 people seeking damages totalling more than Rs 10 crore, but senior lawyers have questioned the executive’s power to collect compensation without a conviction or a court order.
Several senior BJP leaders feel that Adityanath has been emboldened by the backing from the central leadership, which they said seemed to prefer leaders with “56-inch chests”. They feared that this attitude could harm the party in the long run.
They said the Adityanath government’s decision to slap fines on protesters was improper and would cause fissures in society.
“Many MLAs and others in the party dislike Adityanath’s high-handedness, and I’m sure a large section of the voters despise it,” a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh said. “You can’t have peace in the state by turning the Muslims into your enemies.”
While these doubters within the BJP accused the Opposition and certain “suspicious” outfits of fanning the citizenship protests, they also blamed the government managers.
“The Lok Sabha had passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill during the first Narendra Modi government’s tenure. Barring Assam, there were no protests anywhere,” a leader said.
“This time the home minister constantly flagged the NRC, which was unnecessary, and this generated fear among the Muslims.”
Several BJP leaders said that although the current protests might seem to be benefiting the party by polarising the voters, the sharpening political and communal divisions could hurl the country into a crisis.
“If all the Opposition-ruled states turn rigid and choose confrontation with the Centre on the new citizenship law, NRC and the National Population Register — if more than a half-dozen major states decide not to implement a central law — it could trigger a constitutional crisis,” a BJP veteran who now stands marginalised said.
These leaders, however, fully backed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saying it had been long due and gave “justice and respect” to people persecuted on religious lines in the three Muslim-majority neighbouring countries. “I strongly support the citizenship amendment but the manner of its handling has not been proper. The government could have secured the law’s passage without setting up a confrontation,” a party senior said.
The doubters said the current leadership’s “confrontational” and “chest-thumping” style of functioning was fraught with risk.
“It could reap political dividends but could also precipitate matters beyond control. It’s like investing in the stock market,” one of them warned.
