Joshi is Vajpayee's problem: Sangh

Unhappy with the controversy arising out of the resignation of Union Human Resources Development Minister Murli Mano-har Joshi after the Rae Bareli court decision, the entire senior Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leadership will stay away from Delhi on September 29""a day after arrival of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from New York.

Vajpayee is expected to consult Cabinet and party colleagues on that day about the controversy surrounding Joshi's resignation.

In a pre-meditated move to steer clear of the "personalised controversy", top RSS leaders have chalked out their tour programmes to enable the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership to resolve the crisis among themselves.

"We have nothing to do with the whole issue," RSS sources said. The Sangh leadership would not meddle in the internal affairs of the BJP, they added.

Vajpayee will arrive here on September 28. Significantly, BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu will also be away from Delhi on September 29, leaving the issue to the discretion of Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani.

The RSS leadership appears quite confused over contradictory signals emanating from the Joshi camp.

Till three days back, Joshi is learnt to have shown his eagerness to meet RSS chief KS Sudershan after his arrival here. Though Sudershan stayed at the RSS headquarters, there was no word from Joshi about the meeting.

That Joshi's high expectation from the Sangh stands belied and it has given a twist to the whole issue.

The RSS ruled out the possibility of any change in the BJP leadership at a time when Joshi acolytes were busy fuelling speculations about the possibility of Joshi taking over the reins from Naidu.

What appears to have worried the RSS is the fact that the controversy had turned to the Sangh's disadvantage an issue, which the Hindutva forces were trying to exploit in their favour. "Now the focus is on the internal feud," said RSS sources.

In the BJP circle, Joshi's isolation is evident. Senior BJP leaders admit that Vajpayee's silence on the issue speaks volumes about the Prime Minister's anguish over the raging of a controversy at a time when he is abroad.

In all likelihood, Vajpayee is expected to direct Joshi to continue as the minister and reject his resignation.

There is also a possibility that Joshi may get a "patient hearing" from Vajpayee where Joshi can lay bare the "perceived humiliations" during Naidu's tenure as the BJP president. But to get all these concessions, Joshi will have to eat his words and withdraw his resignation.

In the other scenario, if Joshi persisted with the resignation, he would be defying the party line that no minister needed to resign in the wake of the court order, RSS sources pointed out.