The political heat increased on the stage of BJP gathered in Gurugram to remember the tragedy of partition of India, when Union Minister and Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh raised questions on the methods of his own party's program. From the local MP not getting a chance to speak to the local representatives being ignored at the event, Rao openly expressed his displeasure from the stage. According to India Today report, the support of senior BJP leader Kuldeep Bishnoi the very next day made this resentment a bigger political issue.
Along with this, the discussion about the internal tussle of Haryana BJP, senior versus young leadership and regional political equations has intensified afresh. This discussion has not stopped even four days after the program ended.
What did Rao Inderjit say from the stage of Gurugram?
On August 14, a state level program of 'Partition Disaster Remembrance Day' was organized by BJP at Maharana Pratap Golden Jubilee Park in Gurugram. Many senior party leaders including BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar were present on the stage. During the program, Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh, on his turn, openly expressed his displeasure over the event. He said that despite being a local MP, he felt that he was not given due respect.
Rao Inderjit Singh raised the question that after the partition of Gurugram and Haryana, a large number of people from Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali and other areas of Pakistan have settled, but the local people and local representatives did not get the expected importance in the program.
Was Rao not invited to speak?
Rao Inderjit Singh told from the stage that his name was not included in the list of speakers. Taking a dig at the presence of the party leadership, he said that if this was not a party programme, perhaps he would not have even been invited. Addressing BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Rao also raised the question as to how appropriate it is to organize a program without inviting or honoring one's own party MP.
This statement of a senior BJP leader is now in discussion because many senior leaders of the party including Manohar Lal Khattar were present on the stage. Some reports also claimed that Rao left the stage after getting angry.
Why is Kuldeep Bishnoi's support to Rao's anger important?
The very next day after Rao Inderjit's displeasure, BJP MLA and senior leader Kuldeep Bishnoi came out in his support. Bishnoi said through a social media post that promoting young leaders should not mean reducing the stature of senior leaders or making them feel neglected. Describing Rao Inderjit as a 'veteran leader of Ahirwal', he raised the issue of respect for senior leadership. Bishnoi's support is considered important because it expanded the scope of Rao's personal resentment to the debate on the role of senior leaders within the BJP and the party's treatment of them.
Is the old political tussle the reason behind this?
The controversy that took place on the stage in Gurugram also points towards the long-running political tussle within the Haryana BJP. Differences between Rao Inderjit Singh, who has a strong hold in the Ahirwal area, and former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar regarding political influence, ticket distribution and methods of functioning of the party have been in the news from time to time.
In such a situation, the presence of both the leaders on the same platform and Rao openly expressing his displeasure became politically important. This development has come to light at a time when there has been discussion about the balance between senior leaders and new faces in BJP.
Have caste equations been added to BJP's politics?
In this entire controversy of Haryana BJP, the aspect of Ahirwal versus Punjabi political influence has also come into discussion. Rao Inderjit Singh comes from the Ahir community and is considered to have strong political influence in the Ahirwal region of southern Haryana. Whereas Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini's background is related to Punjab and former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar comes from Punjabi Khatri community.
In his address, Rao raised questions on the importance given to Punjabi leaders and local representatives in the program, due to which the dispute started being linked to regional and community equations. Kuldeep Bishnoi calling Rao a 'veteran leader of Ahirwal' was also considered important in this political context.
In fact, 'Partition Horrors Memorial Day' is celebrated by BJP every year on 14 August to commemorate the tragedy, displacement and loss of life and property during the partition of 1947. But this time the program in Gurugram was not limited to just remembering the pain of partition. Rao Inderjit's displeasure from the stage and the subsequent support of Kuldeep Bishnoi made the ongoing political tussle within Haryana BJP a subject of public debate.