NEW DELHI: A series of tweets posted by BJP vice president Prabhat Jha in the last couple of days created a flutter, though he sought to pass them off as mere recalling of advice by seniors at a time when the party is in the midst of its massive membership drive. A few of his tweets on Sunday, including “one shouldn’t hurt someone’s self respect, it could happen with you too” and “responsibility shouldn’t mean that it’s me only,” left political commentators guessing.
And in a loaded tweet on Monday, Jha opined that what’s happening in Goa (induction of 10 Congress MLAs into the BJP) and Rajya Sabha (Opposition MPs joining the BJP) aren’t normal. While Jha claimed he meant the Opposition leaders now see better prospects in the saffron party, which is why they are crossing over, he is way too mature a politician not to realise the tweets could be interpreted otherwise.
The controversial tweets come at a time when the BJP’s general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal has been repatriated to the parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and B L Santhosh appointed in his place instead. Speaking to The Morning Standard, Jha said: “The BJP is currently undertaking a membership drive. My tweets are in that context to highlight the importance of organisation and responsibility.” Really?