The run-up to the elections in Uttar Pradesh had turned into a ding dong battle. But BJP President hit a new low. He called the opposition KASAB-‘KA stood for the Congress, SA for the Samajwadi Party and B for the BSP. He wants KASAB to be knocked out. It is possible that the BJP may end up with a slender majority. As the UP elections are a very close contest, a few votes do matter. But Shah’s logic is preposterously twisted. The BJP which is the ruling party at the Centre should have national interests in mind. But the hurling of accusations by the contesting parties against one another may go against India’s fight against terror. The whole process of the war on terror has been cheapened. The BJP seems to suggest that anybody who opposes it is a terrorist. That takes the sting away from the grievous crime of terrorism and according to the BJP, Kasab can be identified with it.
Shah has vigorously attacked goondaism in Uttar Pradesh. He has gone so far as to say that if the BJP ruled in the state, goondas would be hung upside down echoing what Jawaharlal Nehru said about black marketeers. Such goondaism has however been encouraged in nearby Delhi. Students from ABVP which is affiliated to the BJP were on the rampage only the other day. Delhi police did not restrain the students and instead turned the heat on and thrashed journalists who were simply doing their job to cover the untoward incident. According to the Association of Democratic Reforms, more than 30% BJP candidates in the four phases of UP polls which are already over have criminal cases registered against them. Amit Shah is a fine one to talk.