BJP plays down buzz over projecting Rajnath Singh as CM face for UP

Playing down all speculations over projecting Home Minister Rajnath Singh as the face of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the party said on Friday that the party ranks were full of capable leaders.

There has been a lot of buzz over the chief ministerial candidate for the crucial polls and Singh, the last BJP chief minister in Uttar Pradesh, is being seen as a “natural” face by many due to his experience. The top party leaders, however, have maintained a studied silence over the issue.

Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told at a press conference, “We have many capable leaders,” parrying questions over the issue.

“Whenever a decision is taken, parliamentary board will convey it to you,” he said.

The party’s comments came on a day when Singh also insisted that there is no dearth of capable people in the party as he chose to downplay talks about him.

“UP mein kabil chehron ke koi kami nahi hai (There is no dearth of capable faces in UP),” he said in Lucknow when asked about BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2017 Assembly polls.

Singh in the past has said he was not keen on returning to state politics. However, it is almost certain that he will play a prominent role during the campaign.

Party President Amit Shah had recently said that the BJP was yet to decide whether a chief ministerial candidate should be projected or not.

Trivedi, though, pointed out that Singh after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah had campaigned most in Assam and Bihar polls as well.

Though its success in Assam has fuelled talks within the party that the formula of projecting a face will be repeated in Uttar Pradesh too, the lack of a candidate with appeal across the country’s most populous state can be a hindrance.

A BJP leader also pointed out that it has done poorly in the last three polls despite projecting a CM pick, Singh in 2002, Kalyan Singh in 2007 and Uma Bharti in 2012.

Bharti was not officially announced as a candidate and was part of a quartet, including Singh, Kalraj Mishra and Surya Pratap Shahi. But her OBC credentials and the party’s decision to task her with reviving the party in the state had created the impression of she being in charge of its campaign.

Many believe that the party needs to project a leader to counter Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP and Mayawati-led BSP, two leaders with wide appeal.

This News is Originally Posted on The Indian Express

JNU Row: Sudhanshu Trivedi defends Rajnath Singh’s remarks on varsity students, Hafiz Saeed

New Delhi, Feb 15 : With Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement about Hafiz Saeed “supporting” the JNU protest attracting criticism from a few quarters, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday sought to defend the senior party leader, saying people should protest this in unison rather than questioning it. ”As per a political viewpoint, the Home Minister had appealed to people from different areas of society to come and unitedly protest against anti-national powers. But sadly, rather than protesting, why are you becoming advocate for a terrorist who has made a statement,” Trivedi asked.

Singh on Sunday claimed that the JNU university event in Delhi in memory of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru had received “support” from terror outfit LeT’s founder Hafiz Saeed, a statement that sparked a political row with opposition parties asking him to provide evidence. Reacting to Singh’s claim, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said it is a “very serious charge” to level against the students and that the evidence must be shared with all. CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the Home Minister has to come out and share the evidence he has with the country to back up his “serious allegation”. CPI leader D Raja also demanded that the evidence be made public.

Dismissing the opposition charges, Trivedi said “This could not be a subject of public discourse. The ways, timings and the medium that terrorist and anti-national activities use is a subject of consideration for intelligence and security agencies and cannot be a subject of public discourse.”  escribing the Opposition’s reaction as “unfortunate”, Trivedi said, “Despite this, to blame the government on a particular issue, without going into details is utterly wrong and unfortunate.”

Making a counter-attack on Congress, Trivedi said this is “very surprising in itself”. ”I would like to say that those who talk about blaming are the same people who had said Hafiz Saeed as Hafiz Sahab. These are the same people who had merged their voices, while sitting in India, with Hafiz Saeed who was the sole person to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Pakistan tour in December last year.”

Targeting former UPA Home Minister, he said, “All other people, whether in opposition or power had welcomed the Prime Minister. If ever, any Indian Home Minister has been patted at back by Hafiz Saeed, then it was in January 2013. The then Home Minister under UPA was appreciated by Saeed for the former’s subject on Hindu Terrorism.”

This New is Originally Posted on India