BJP draws parallel between Mush, Hitler & Indira

THE BJP on Sunday saw crucial parallels between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to impose emergency in his country, the usurpation of dictatorial powers by Adolf Hitler in Germany in the early part of the previous century and India’s brush with a similar situation during 1975-77, when Indira Gandhi clamped emergency in the country, even as it expressed its serious concern over the developments in Islamabad.

“The developments in the past 24 hours in Pakistan have become a matter of international concern. The concern in India is greater since Pakistan is our immediate neighbour,” observed BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, adding, “Our party has always believed that the struggle for democracy in Pakistan is inseparable from the struggle against terrorism, which is backed by religious extremism.”

For the BJP leader, there were important similarities between the latest developments in Pakistan and India’s tryst with emergency. “For the people of India, particularly for those who were either born or grew up after 1975, the emerging situation in Pakistan is a replica of what India had gone through during the internal emergency. It is ironical that developments in Pakistan took place on a day when the president of the Congress party, which was responsible for the tyranny of emergency in 1975, was accusing the BJP of being heartless and lacking concern for the people,” Mr Jaitley argued.

The common thread running through the emergencies in the three countries at various points of time in history, he maintained, is an inbuilt desire in the proclaimer to perpetuate personal power, usurp absolute power, eliminate all possibilities of losing that power and intolerance towards any form of criticism.

“The constitutional formulation is almost a straitjacket one,” the BJP general secretary contended and added, “Firstly, proclaim a state of emergency on unsustainable grounds. Secondly, eliminate the possibility of it being challenged by either terrorising the judiciary or even replacing it with pliable judges. Thirdly, root out any form of dissent by imposing fetters on the media in the form of censorship, denial of connectivity and arrest of editors. Fourthly, suspend civil liberties by providing for detention without trial and prohibiting judicial review against such detentions. Fifthly, arrest and detain all political opponents.”

“This is accompanied by the generation of an atmosphere of personal sycophancy by proclaiming the dictator as a saviour of the nation in its hour of crisis,” Mr Jaitley pointed out.

Stretching his argument further, Mr Jaitley said the situation is used to perpetuate dynastic politics, as had happened nearer home. “Such proclaimers of emergency go a step further as in India, they use the fear-psychosis to institutionalise and make acceptable a dynasty as an alternative to democracy. It is not uncommon for such people to then claim that it is ultimately the interest of the poor that they have at heart,” the BJP leader remarked.

“Adolf Hitler announced a 25-point economic programme, Indira Gandhi had her own 20-point programme, and we’re awaiting such an announcement in Pakistan,” he added.