Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh on Tuesday announced the end of the crisis within the saffron brigade following Lal Krishna Advani's resignation from all key posts, and said that the veteran has accepted the advice of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to respect the Parliamentary Board's decision and continue to guide the party in national interest.
"The BJP Parliamentary Board yesterday decided not to accept Shri L.K. Advani's resignation from the three main fora of the party- National Executive, Parliamentary Board, Election Committee- and requested him to continue to be member of these three bodies. On behalf of the party, I myself assured Shri Advaniji that his concerns about the functioning of the party would be properly addressed and I will discuss the modalities of addressing these concerns with Advaniji," said Rajnath Singh, while reading out a statement.
He added:" Today afternoon RSS Sarsanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwatji spoke to Shri Advaniji and asked him to respect the BJP Parliamentary Board's decision and continue to guide the party in national interest. Shri Advaniji has decided to accept Shri Bhagwatji's advice."
Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj was also present during the media briefing. Advani was, however, missing during the press meet.
The BJP veteran yesterday resigned from party's Parliamentary Board, Election Committee and National Executive.
In his resignation letter submitted to BJP President Rajnath Singh, Advani said he has been finding it difficult to reconcile with the functioning of the party and the direction in which it is going.
Advani, who was not happy with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's appointment as the chairman of campaign committee for 2014 general elections, said that most BJP leaders are concerned just with their personal agenda.
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The BJP President earlier in the day denied reports that the party is under pressure from the RSS over the crisis triggered by Advani's resignation. He said the news stories suggesting it are baseless.
Senior BJP leaders visited Advani at his residence here today to persuade him to withdraw his resignation, which was rejected by the party's top decision-making body last evening.
BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu earlier in the day said he was confident that the issue will be resolved soon.
"We are confident that the issues raised by Advaniji will be addressed to and everything will be resolved soon. This is my confidence. I am sure the party will be able to resolve all these issues raised by Advaniji," he said.
BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, who met the veteran at his residence here earlier in the day, said Advani is an inspiration for party and BJP needs his leadership.
"I have just met Advaniji, I had met him yesterday as well. Advaniji is a veteran leader of our party. He is our guide and our idol. BJP's marches from its Jan Sangh days till today have received a great deal of contribution due to his toil and hard work, which is why the party is here today. We all want his guidance, our parliamentary board has decided," said Prasad.
"It is our appeal and of the entire country's as well. We believe things will resolve very soon and strong result shall come," he added.