To stop Swamy from speaking, BJP cancels 2 functions
NEW DELHI: After the party sent a strong signal to Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy with the cancellation of two functions where he was to speak, BJP members felt a sense of relief when PM Narendra Modi plainly stated that Swamy’s comments on RBI governor — and his veiled attacks on finance minister Arun Jaitley — were inappropriate.
BJP members hope the PM’s message that “any one who thinks he is bigger than the system is wrong” will put a check on Swamy’s daily attacks on the government, including Jaitley . Party sources, who found it difficult to speak out against Swamy without receiving clear instructions from the top leadership, agreed that the Rajya Sabha MP should not miss the unambiguous signals.
“The entire debate on Raghuram Rajan, people who speak out of turn and the party’s campaign in UP is over, since Prime Minister’s is the last word,” party secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said after Modi’s interview.
It remains to be seen how far Swamy will maintain party discipline but his claims to have a direct line to BJP chief Amit Shah and the PM in the context of recent controversies seems to have gone against him as these were read as a claim that his controversial remarks in some measure enjoy the support of the party brass.
The BJP leadership, however, has been aware of the embarrassment Swamy has caused and was moving to rein him in. He has been spoken to on previous occasions too but the MP has renewed his unilateral campaigns after a brief break. This time his comments on officials for being “pro-US” and his personalised references to the finance minister left the party with no option but to act.
With Swamy showing no signs of relenting and the party seen as unable to curb him, BJP chose other measures to drive home the point and send out a message. To keep him from speaking out against the government and its ministers, the party got two functions cancelled where Swamy was supposed to speak.
One function was scheduled for Sunday in Mumbai and another organised by RSS in Chennai this week. But both have been called off, as the party was unable to tell Swamy not to attend the programmes or stop attacking the government and its ministers.
Party spokespersons were in a fix over how to deal with Swamy, who was on rampage on Twitter, escalating his open attack against the government’s top officials and Jaitley, beyond saying that they were his “personal views” on the first day of the attack.
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