Family drama

Sir ? If the BJP leaders are puzzled by the antics of their resident bahu, they can at least draw comfort from the fact that Smriti Irani has not been manoeuvred by some devious Modi-baiter. Hers is a simple case of identity crisis. The reel-life, righteous Tulsi Virani has taken over the real life of Smriti Irani. Her drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections has not cleared her illusions. As she continues to take on errant patriarchs in the devout Hindu Virani parivar on weekdays, so she thought she could take on the errant patriarchs in the larger Hindu parivar on the weekend. She may not have succeeded entirely, but she signals a change in the role of the bahu in the saffron parivar. Deepika ?Sita? Chiklia, the original big bahu of the BJP, won a seat in the Lok Sabha, and still remained relatively low-profile. Irani, in spite of losing the elections, makes headlines. Should the credit go to Ekta Kapoor?

Yours faithfully,
Sulagana Biswas, Calcutta

Sir ? First it was Uma Bharti, and now it is Smriti Z. Irani?s turn to proved that the party with a difference is indeed a party with differences (?TV bahu ties Modi in soap opera?, Dec 13). Irani?s diatribe against the Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi, may not make much sense, but it proves a point: that the second-rung leaders ? with Irani, even the third- or fourth-rung ones ? are desperately trying to throw their weight in the party. But Irani?s sudden outburst, which may be in consonance with her soap opera, will only damage her political image.

Yours faithfully,
Shadab Ahsan, Gaya

Sir ? Smriti Z. Irani?s recent outburst ought to teach a lesson to political parties in general, and the BJP in particular. Celebrities past their prime join politics not out of any ideological passion. They do it for the love of the media limelight. Some are intelligent, and some others are not. People from the world of performing arts are encouraged not to have a mind of their own. As a star actor observed recently, they are like trained animals parroting lines written by the scriptwriter. So whenever they open their mouth of their own accord, they put their foot in it. The sooner the political ideologues understand this danger, the better.

Yours faithfully,
Tapan Pal, Batanagar

Sir ? There is no doubt about it, Smriti Z. Irani has made a laughing stock of herself. She would have received much support had she decided to stick to her stand against Narendra Modi. But instead, she took the paper from the Maharashtra BJP chief and read out the apology that had been penned by the party high command. I am sure it was the threat of expulsion from the party that forced her to retract her statement. But now it seems certain that Irani?s outburst was, in the first place, an act of vindictiveness, following Modi?s refusal to grant her a Rajya Sabha ticket from Gujarat. But how could Irani ever think she would get Atal Bihari Vajpayee?s sympathy by going on a fast-unto-death on the former prime minister?s birthday? It is well known that after the Gujarat pogrom, Vajpayee could not muster the courage to speak against Modi save uttering a few harmless words on raj dharma. It will take Irani a long time to learn the tricks of the trade.

Yours faithfully,
Govind Das Dujari, Calcutta

Sir ? Surely Smriti Z. Irani is not such a treasure for the BJP that she cannot be expelled. In fact, a bold step like her expulsion would have set a good precedent for the party.

Yours faithfully,
Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Dariba, Delhi

Sir ? Only a greenhorn in saffron politics could think that Narendra Modi can be threatened into resigning. But the element of drama in the whole episode is reassuring. Ever since its electoral defeat, the BJP has shifted its attention from the politics of high-profile yatra, to the politics of drama, starring Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti, and lately, Irani. As the actor has found to her cost, political drama is a different genre from the kind of drama that she is familiar with. Or did she think that her fast-unto-death would inspire popular outrage against Modi (just as the popular protest at the death of her on-screen husband had led to his resurrection)?

Yours faithfully,
Sourav Sengupta, Durgapur

Sir ? The live telecast of the Smriti Irani episode in the soap opera of BJP politics came at a time when the party president, L.K. Advani, was prescribing ?discipline? to fight the ?Congressization? of the BJP. The episode provided yet another glimpse of anarchy within the party after Uma Bharti?s suspension a month ago. It also highlighted the double standards of the party leadership, which had projected Irani as the desi bahu against the videshi bahu, Sonia Gandhi, during the election campaign of 2004. But when the bahu rebelled against Narendra Modi, the BJP?s reaction was no different from that of a crude, autocratic, conservative middle-class family, where the daughters-in-law do not speak until they are asked to. Irani chose the wrong time. The BJP is trying hard to revive the Hindutva agenda, so it is in no mood to entertain Irani?s demands. For in the Hindutva campaign, Modi is their biggest weapon.

Yours faithfully,
Rashmi Jaiswal, Howrah