Its ideological parent RSS says it won’t intervene in its affairs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has apparently decided to go soft on its senior leader Arun Shourie, also a Rajya Sabha member, who had lambasted the party’s top leadership in a televised interview on Monday and dared the party to throw him out.
At the end of a nearly four-and-a-half hour meeting of the party’s top leaders, that deliberated on the issue, party President Rajnath Singh said: “We have asked Shourie to explain his remarks on the party (in the interview).” Journalist-turned-politician Shourie had called the BJP ‘kati patang’ (a kite without its string), sought removal of the top brass and asked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to take over the party.
However, the debate on Shourie’s interview remained inconclusive today. Sources said it was likely to continue, with L K Advani, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also joining the deliberation tomorrow.
“We all were taken aback by Shourie’s remarks,” a senior leader, who attended the meeting, said. “It came as a bombshell, though we knew that he had been contemplating moves to embarrass the party,” he said.
According to party insiders, today’s meeting was divided over what action to take against Shourie. Faced with an adverse public opinion over senior leader Jaswant Singh’s expulsion in Shimla in the wake of his authoring a book on Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, some of the speakers wondered “what purpose Shourie’s sacking would serve”.
Others expressed apprehension that Shourie might further embarrass the party in case he was sacked. Shourie had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha for two terms and had served as a Union minister for disinvestment under the Vajpayee-led NDA government.
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Again, speakers interpreted Shourie’s remarks in the interview given to the NDTV channel, to draw home a point that he (Shourie) probably did not intend to harm the party or its leaders. “In fact, he has certain issues that can no longer be pushed under the carpet for ever and these must be discussed,” a senior leader said, after participating at the meeting.
The RSS, meanwhile, has clarified that it would not intervene in the internal affairs of the BJP. On Shourie’s remarks that the RSS should take over the BJP, RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said: “It is not the job of RSS.” He said the BJP had to take its own decisions about its problems and the Sangh could only extend help and guidance.
As the BJP grappled with dissensions and desertions (Kiren Rijiju, a member of the BJP’s national executive from Arunachal, joining the Congress), the RSS today said the BJP will have to “analyse” the developments and take the right decision.
Sudarshan ‘praises’ Jinnah
In the midst of a debate over Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s role in Partition, former RSS chief K S Sudarshan has said the Pakistan founder had “many facets” and that at one stage, he was with Lokmanya Tilak and was committed to a unified India.
“There were many facets to Jinnah. If you read history correctly, he was with Tilak and was committed to a unified India. If (Mahatma) Gandhi had insisted that Partition would not happen, then it wouldn’t have happened,” he said yesterday on being asked whether the Muslim League leader was secular.
Recalling that Gandhi had started the Khilafat movement with the idea that the fight was against the British and if Muslims joined in, then their support will help gain independence, Sudarshan said: “But at that time, Jinnah opposed it, saying that if the Caliph in Turkey has been dethroned what has India got to do with it?”
“Then nobody listened to him. This saddened him. So he quit the Congress and left for England and only returned in 1927,” he said.
Jaswant to visit Pak Jaswant Singh is likely to visit Pakistan for the launch of his book ‘Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence’, after Ramzan.
Having planned a series of launches across various metros in India besides abroad, including Pakistan, the publisher Rupa and Co said the launch in the neighbouring country is most likely to be held after Ramzan.
“The promotional event will start in a few days. We are in talks with our counterparts in Pakistan to fix a date for the launch. It is most likely to be held after Ramzan,” the publishers said.
Asked if Singh would be part of the launch, Rupa and Co said: “He is the author. What would be a book launch without him?” It has planned a series of promotional activity across India, including launches in Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad.
The publisher maintained that the book was doing brisk business in the country. R K Mehra, chairman of the publishing firm, had earlier said: “It is selling everywhere, it is selling very well in Pakistan.”
Contending that the book was selling extremely well across the country, he said: “We can’t give you the exact number as it is a business secret, but the book shops are running out of stock.”