Unapologetic about the
Bharatiya janta Party
’s stand on Hindutva, BJP national spokesperson
Sambit Patra
dismissed allegations that the saffron party was ‘remote controlled’ by Nagpur — a popular euphemism for the Rashtriya Swayansevak Sangh.
Speaking at the release of
Yogi Adityanath: The Rise of a Saffron Socialist a Times Book by senior TOI journalist Pravin Kumar at the Times Literature Festival in New Delhi on Sunday, Patra said he was proud that Nagpur served as a compass that provided direction to the party. “Nagpur is not the remote control, which control our every move. But I feel proud to say that it is the compass that shows us the direction,” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is an organisation that protects and projects its talent when the time is right, Patra said, while pitting the BJP as different from political organisations that encourage nepotism. “Apart from the incredible story of Yogi Adityanath, BJP is also the platform that allowed a common tea seller to rise and become, one day, the Prime Minister of India. Patra added, “Everyone knows who the next president of the Congress party will be, but in BJP, even the current president and the prime minister do not know who the next chief will be. There is no setup more democratic that that.”
On Sunday, Patra also defended Yogi Adityanath as the BJP’s choice, if only last minute, as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He said, “The decision was taken by the Parliamentary Board. But the controversy around Yogi’s appointment was largely because he was seen as a polarising figure because of the saffron he wears. I must say Saffron is a colour that symbolises sacrifice. Lohia himself wanted the tears wiped off every poor person’s face. While the so-called socialists have become family fiefs, the saffron socialist — who has given up everything to work for the cause of the country — is now the symbol and tool of development.”
Referring to PM Modi and CM Yogi as the “double engines driving India’s GDP”, Patra also said while Yogi’s future role in the BJP would be decided by the party’s parliamentary panel, it was only natural for Yogi to campaign beyond UP since he was both a vibrant personality, and the CM of India’s most politically significant state. In defence of the infant deaths at
Gorakhpur Medical College
earlier this year, Patra also said that while the deaths were unfortunate, and that no one should die due to the lack of healthcare facilities, and that it was Yogi Adityanath who had first raised the issue of Japanese encephalitis in Parliament.
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