You are requested not to treat this as our self praise, but is it not true that about two weeks ago in this “Mirch Masala’’ column the
truth had been revealed that “It will be Gadkari’s number on December 19’’. One need not say how accurate our words have been proved on the yardstick of truth. Last week in this very column it had first been published that after amendment in the BJP constitution, Advani would be made the chairman of the party’s Parliamentary Board and Sushma would become the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. Time would bear testimony to the fact that this is precisely what happened on Friday. But the moot question is who in BJP takes the big decisions? The members of the BJP Parliamentary Board did not even get a hint, even
the party general secretaries were not asked, so much so that even the Core Group was not taken into confidence and such a big amendment was made in the party constitution that now the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha would not be the chairman of the Parliamentary Board. So much so that this incumbent of the new post has been empowered to henceforth nominate the leader of the party in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Wow, what is this idea that Jaitley has struck upon! Now with the amendment in the party constitution, the members of the Mandals have also been deprived of their right to vote, but there was not even a murmur of dissent, no senior party leader was pained, there is even no discussion on when the next meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party group need to be called. What to say of the party with a difference!