‘Satyapal Malik, Jagdeep Dhankhar Insulted; People Started Fearing Modi': Expelled Rajasthan BJP Spokesperson

The Wire

11 hours ago

Caste
Expelled BJP leader Krishan Kumar Janu talks about his long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP, why he believes that the BJP has become an individual-centric party.
Expelled Rajasthan BJP spokesperson Krishan Kumar Janu. Photo: Facebook
Jaipur: The Rajasthan unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on August 8 expelled its spokesperson Krishan Kumar Janu, 55, from the party's primary membership for six years on charges of indiscipline. While Janu was issued a show cause notice by the party back in June, the expulsion order was issued days after a video surfaced on social media, wherein he questioned the BJP over the treatment of former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik who recently passed away.
In the video, Janu, who is from the Jat community, had also questioned the silence of other Jat leaders in the party and mentioned the unceremonious departure of former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also from the Jat community in Jhunjhunu, which is Janu's home district.
In a Hindi interview with The Wire, Janu talks about his long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP, why he believes that the BJP has become an individual-centric party and what he terms as the party's unjust treatment of Jat leaders owing to alleged upper caste bias.
The BJP expelled you from the party for indiscipline. What do you think was the immediate reason?
I think it was my recent video in which I spoke about the neglect shown by party leaders towards Satyapal Malik which led to my expulsion from the party. Malik had been a national vice president of the BJP and held posts including that of minister and Governor. The BJP had no enmity with him. It was only Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal grudge which led to the party staying away from his last rites. I spoke about it because I cannot look the other way and be the Bhishma Pitamaha in the court of Duryodhan.
But you were also issued a show cause notice back in June.
I was sent the show cause notice after I had written on my social media about the election of the relative of a former MP as the Jhunjhunu district president of the BJP. I had asked what the other leaders whose names were sent by the district election officers lacked – because of which the relative of a former MP was made the BJP district president.
The party objected to the fact that I wrote this on social media. But I had written it as a question to my fellow workers.
The party also released the notice to the media before sending it to me. Should the party monitor even individual conversations? Two months had passed after the notice and there was no action against me. I was assured informally by party leaders that the matter is settled.
But it was my statement after Satyapal Malik's passing away that led to my expulsion.
You also spoke about the way Jagdeep Dhankhar was treated...
Yes, I spoke about both Satyapal Malik and Jagdeep Dhankhar. Dhankhar was the vice president and within one or two hours [before and after his resignation] you decided that you won't give him a farewell, and he couldn't even deliver a farewell speech. If my party doesn't adopt a moral and constitutional view then isn't it my duty to highlight this?
When did you get associated with the BJP and the Sangh Parivar?
I grew up in Agra, where my father was posted. When we came to Jhunjhunu – our village Bahadurwas is in the Jhunjhunu district – I mixed with mostly the urban crowd and got associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1986. I was a good debater in college and gradually became the organisational secretary of the ABVP in districts such as Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu. I did my Dwitiya Varsh Sangh Shiksha Varg [the Dwitiya Varsh Sangh Shiksha Varg is the second year residential training camp conducted by the RSS for its volunteers] with the RSS in 1992.
Later, I was also the saha-sangathan mantri [co-minister in charge of organisation] of the ABVP in the state. Around that time, there weren't many Jat leaders subscribing to the Hindutva ideology who were in the BJP because the community traditionally voted for Congress. We worked on the ground to bring many Jat youngsters to the BJP. I always wanted to work on the ground more. I also contested the assembly elections from the Mandawa seat in 2003 after the party fielded me as its candidate.
You have said that the BJP, the party with which you had such a long association, has changed. What brought this change, in your opinion?
We had worked hard and contributed to the BJP's victory in 2014. In 2014 it was a BJP government that was formed. But by 2019, it became the Modi government which is a sign of individualism. We always accuse the Congress of being dynastic but the BJP has also become an individualistic party. If the Congress practices pseudo secularism, the BJP too is practicing pseudo nationalism and catering it to the public. I always learned in the Sangh that when something wrong happens, one must speak up.
What do you think is the main difference between previous BJP govts and the present regime?
After the BJP got 303 seats in 2019, it became the Modi government. Thereafter, the behaviour of workers, talking style of MLAs and MPs, everything changed. People started fearing Modi ji as if he is some Shahenshah. This is not a democratic set up for either a party or country.
But the longstanding goals of the RSS such as the Ram temple and reading down of the Article 370 have been achieved in the tenure of PM Modi.
I have closely seen the Ram temple movement and had myself gone to do Kar Sewa in 1988. The main people who spearheaded the Ram Mandir agitation, were sidelined by Modi ji, who is now taking credit. He didn't even let Advani ji attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple. There shouldn't be such sycophancy. There is no doubt that Modi ji is a good worker. But at the same time, it shouldn't be as if Modi ji is everything. Be it Guru ji (M.S. Golwalkar), (K.B.) Hedgewar ji, they didn't make themselves the chief but accepted the sacred saffron flag as the guru. When Modi ji does his Mann ki Baat with everyone, why can't he listen to the karyakarta, who is shown the door when he speaks?
Krishan Kumar Janu (left) with Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore. Photo: Facebook
After the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that a real sevak cannot be arrogant. Recently, he spoke about leaders stepping aside after attaining the age of 75. Do you think these statements were aimed at PM Modi?
Of course. There is a dignity of the Sangh. The RSS speaks in cryptic language. But despite Modi ji understanding this language, he is being stubborn. We saw what he did with Advani ji, or Murli Manohar Joshi. Modi ji has retired many people at the age of 75. Why wouldn't it apply for him? Leaders having good support on the ground such as Vasundhara Raje or Shivraj Singh Chouhan were sidelined. This dummy set up, wherein mass leaders are being replaced by puppets is not fair in politics.
Do you think there is a tussle between the BJP and the RSS?
Not a tussle but a difference between the working styles. The Sangh wants a certain working style in the BJP, but the BJP is saying we are so big that we don't need the Sangh. They feel where will the Sanghis go because they are our people. As a result, they are taking in leaders who are the garbage of Congress. They don't trust their own production but on ready-made products.
When were you made a spokesperson for the BJP?
I was with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and after that was made spokesperson in 2022. Ever since I was a kid, I was moulded in the Hindutva ideology. I am a hardcore Sanghi.
You describe yourself as a hardcore Sanghi, and yet the BJP expelled you?
I am not the only one with a long past in the RSS who has been treated this way by the BJP in recent times. Gyan Dev Ahuja was expelled. The BJP also took action against Nupur Sharma. Why did the BJP take action against Nupur Sharma? Because of international pressure. This means you are taking the sacrifice of your own workers.
Do you think workers are not heard in the BJP, especially in states such as Rajasthan, where the party is in power?
Off camera, all mandal chairpersons, zila chairpersons, everyone accepts that they are not being heard. They don't say anything publicly because they are afraid of indiscipline. Parties with strong organisations make governments. Bureaucrats cannot help you get votes.
You have said that the Jat community has been neglected by the BJP. Can you please elaborate?
I will give you an example. I was made the state secretary of the Jat Mahasabha in Rajasthan earlier this year. I was told in BJP circles that I was doing casteism. I told them that upper caste leaders such as the late Ramdas Agarwal have been heads of the Agarwal community and also the BJP. Why wasn't it termed casteism then? There are only Brahmin, Baniya, Kshatriya leaders who keep retaining office bearer positions in the party. The experienced and the old faces would be upper caste, while SC, ST, OBC faces are changed.
The BJP doesn't want strong Jat leaders with an ideological base in BJP. It only wants yes men. As a result, the BJP is handing over the Jat community to the Congress on a platter. The reason behind it is that BJP mein jo savarna jaatiyan hai, wo raj ka pura maja lena chahti hain, kuch logon ko saza dena chahti hain (the savarnas in the BJP want to take full benefit of the party's rule and want to punish others).
Now that you have been expelled, what will be your next course of action?
I will not go against Hindutva. I will try to correct the road taken by the BJP and also on the fact how my community is being insulted by the BJP. I will be working on exposing the imbecile Jat leaders in the BJP in front of our community. Not even one person paid tribute to Satyapal Malik or expressed regret for the insult to Jagdeep Dhankhar. But when they go to ask for votes, they show their Jat identity. The message among the Jat community is that two big leaders including one who was vice president, were insulted. There will be a revolt in wake of the political surrender of the Jat.
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