New Delhi: Amid speculation about former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath exploring the option of joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a section of the party’s leaders have expressed their reservations about the move to its central leadership, ThePrint has learnt.
The BJP leaders have been targeting the veteran Congress leader for his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, even though it was never proven.
Another concern several BJP leaders have raised is that Nath’s possible entry into the party would affect its chances of stitching an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
While Kamal Nath has not had any meetings with BJP leaders, speculation has been rife about him quitting the Congress as the party didn’t nominate him to the Rajya Sabha. Moreover, a section of the Congress central leadership has also been running a whisper campaign about his role in the party’s failure to win the last assembly election.
However, a number of Congress leaders had also reacted sharply to Nath’s possible exit, including Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who claimed that while there was pressure from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Nath would not leave the Congress.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP leader and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) secretary Tajinder Bagga took to X and said the “doors of BJP were never open in the past and nor are they now” for Kamal Nath.
“Many friends are calling and asking about @OfficeOfKNath. I have told them on the phone and here also I am saying that the doors of BJP were neither open earlier nor are they now for Kamal Nath. (He is) The murderer of Sikhs and the one who burnt the Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. I assure you all that this will never be possible with Prime Minister @narendramodi ji,” he posted on ‘X’.
बहुत से मित्रों के फ़ोन आ रहे है और वो @OfficeOfKNath के बारे में पूछ रहे हैं । मैंने उनसे फ़ोन पर भी कहाँ है और यहाँ भी कह रहा हूँ की सिखों के हत्यारे और हिन्द दी चादर गुरु तेग़ बहादुर जी के गुरुद्वारे रकाबगंज साहिब को जलाने वाले कमलनाथ के लिए भाजपा के दरवाज़े ना खुले थे ना…
— Tajinder Bagga (@TajinderBagga) February 18, 2024
Reacting to reports of Nath not joining the BJP, Bagga said that PM Modi and the BJP have always worked for the Sikh community and Nath will never be inducted into the party.
“We are already getting reports that Kamal Nath is not leaving the Congress. We have full faith in the leadership of PM Modi and his sentiments towards the Sikh community,” he said.
When asked whether he would also oppose Nath’s son Nakul Nath’s entry into the BJP, Bagga said, “We are opposed to Kamal Nath joining the BJP and have nothing to say about anyone else. Anyone can join the party.”
According to BJP sources, Kamal Nath has given a list of eight Congress leaders who want to join the top leadership of the BJP, if the party assures them of giving them good posts.
Mere rumours?
Bagga is not the only one who has been critical of Nath. Sources in the BJP said national spokesperson and Sikh leader R.P. Singh has conveyed to the party his “unease” with Nath’s possible induction into the party.
“The BJP leaders and workers have always been open to good people from other parties who want to work for the nation to join the BJP. But Nath’s entry into the BJP, when the party has been critical of his role in the anti-Sikh riots, will only leave a scar within the Sikh community,” a senior BJP leader told ThePrint.
Another BJP functionary said these were “mere rumours” and the party will not allow someone like Nath to join the BJP, though they admitted that his son and MP Nakul Nath is in touch with the BJP.
“If his son is to join the BJP, no one will have any issue. We can’t hold his son responsible for what he (Kamal Nath) has done. But all this is too early to comment on,” the functionary told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, Nakul Nath has dropped Congress from his X bio.
Apart from the farmers’ protest, Nath’s possible entry into the BJP is likely to have an impact on the SAD alliance. A number of SAD leaders had accused Nath of instigating the riots outside Delhi’s Gurdwara Rakab Ganj.
When the Congress appointed Nath as Madhya Pradesh’s CM in 2018, Akali leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Manjinder Singh Sirsa (he later joined the BJP in 2021) had reportedly come down heavily on the Congress for “rewarding the perpetrators of genocide against the Sikhs”.
After the farm law protests, the BJP has been making concerted efforts to reach out to the Sikh community with PM Modi leading from the front. For instance, Modi designated 26 December as Veer Bal Diwas — commemorating the martyrdom of the sons of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
“Not only this, we saw the opening up of the Kartarpur corridor and the celebration of the birth anniversaries of Sikh gurus,” said the BJP functionary quoted above.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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