Patna/New Delhi:
In the spreading dissent within the BJP's ranks after its colossal defeat in Bihar, the latest to speak out is parliamentarian and former Home Secretary RK Singh. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Mr Singh said that he was shocked at the number of tickets that the party gave to candidates with criminal records.
"We thought we were a party with a difference. We thought we would give a clean government and then you give tickets to criminals," said Mr Singh. "It is very sad, very bad."
According to an analysis by Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms, 95 of the BJP's 157 candidates in Bihar have criminal cases against them. Over 60 per cent of them have serious cases, ranging from murder and rape to extortion and kidnapping. The candidates' lists from the 'Grand Alliance' were not any more reassuring but according to Mr Singh, the distribution of tickets dented the BJP's image and its prospects in Bihar.
"I'm ashamed that the party has come down to this level. How do you expect to face the country and say you want to give a clean government when you have given tickets to criminals?" he said.
The 62-year-old former bureaucrat, who won from Arrah in central Bihar in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, said he had advised the party against nominating candidates with criminal records from his constituency.
"I had made my concerns known but they were not viewed," Mr Singh said, adding, "These are not ordinary criminals: somebody for whose arrest there was a reward by state government earlier; somebody who was involved in kidnapping for ransom." He was referring to a BJP candidate from his district, Visheshwar Ojha, who was given a ticket despite 16 cases against him - 10 of them for attempt to murder.
Mr Singh said that accountability had to be fixed for the party's debacle in the Bihar elections. "A review has to be made and we need to find out what was wrong," Mr Singh said.
He also said he welcomed the
joint statement by BJP veterans including LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, criticising the top leadership for a range of decisions. "That's the job of the
margdarshak mandal, to give advice. That is what they have given," he said. Barely two months after the Narendra Modi government came to power last year, the veterans were transferred to what was derided by the opposition as a "retirement home" - the
Margdarshak Mandal, a panel meant to provide guidance and mentoring.