BJP should realise that astute politics is safer than launching unguided missiles

looks like even Prime Minister Modi’s censure of party motormouths, asking them to tone down sensationalist remarks bordering on the ridiculous and not provide masala to the media, has vapourised in the face of vitriol. First there was Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asking aggrieved people and parents of children, who died in a train-school van collision, not to crowd around the site and stage a nautanki of a protest. Then there was Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb who praised Aishwarya Rai as an epitome of Indian beauty worthy of the Miss World crown while running down co-winner Diana Hayden as an unqualified mascot propped up by Western cosmetic giants. Both do not belong to the fringe and as chief ministers, helm two of BJP's turnkey states, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura. Yogiji, for all his monastic compassion and empathy at the home bastion of Gorakhpur, should remember that a tragedy involving children will evoke extreme reactions of popular anger and frustration and have to be dealt with sensitively. True, any popular discontent becomes fodder for opposition parties, who hijack the agenda. But Yogi should realise that he is an administrator first and assuaging discontent over the accidental death of schoolkids is his primary task.

Rather than commiserating with the victims' families and trying to calm angry locals, he aggravated matters instead by implying the protests were motivated and not spontaneous. With this one misstep, he headlined the incident for all the wrong reasons and any course corrective will now seem delayed and defensive. Similarly Deb, who created a furore not long time ago with his remark that the internet existed in the age of the Mahabharata, should probably document the biowealth in his state and develop a cosmetic manufacturing industry rather than panning former Miss Worlds. Does he realise that intentionally or unintenionally he appeared racist, pitting a fair Aishwarya against a dusky DianaIJ Or that in the sloganeering times of women empowerment and beti bachao, he seemed to display a misogynist majoritarian choice than a reasoned, inclusive oneIJ What message does the Chief Minister, who hopes to make tribals and Christians feel emboldened  at home, deliver by pitting two differing concepts of beauty against each otherIJ

Both Yogi and Deb are seen as Young Turks, who are hoping to emerge claimants to a Modi legacy and lead a cultural agglomeration of youth. Yet by shooting their mouths off, they have not only created fresh problems for Modi but most worryingly projected themselves unworthier than the fringe who you could still reprimand as poor attention seekers. As chief ministers and newly-elected leaders of masses, they should realise that statesmanship and astute politics is a surer and safer bet than launching unguided missiles. Usually, the latter hit you where you least expect it. The BJP should do some internal rethink and look back to the Vajpayee years and see how his visionary leadership percolated down to second and even third rung leaders. Here the flow is reverse, backflushing refuse to the Prime Minister, who has to make reactive statements than proactive ones. Perhaps BJP's effective media management cell should conduct workshops on the art of popular communication to avoid further embarrasment.