Khurana claims RSS backing

After creating a flutter by demanding resignation of party president LK Advani, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Madan Lal Khurana today said he had taken the step following "consultations" and "approval" of leaders of all the four Sangh Parivar organisations including the Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS).

"Two senior RSS functionaries met me a few days back. I discussed the issue (of demanding resignation) with them. It is only after clearance from the RSS leadership that I sent the letter to Advani," Khurana said.

Khurana, one-time Advani loyalist, on Saturday demanded that Advani quit the party chief's post as well the post of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as he had "sacrificed ideology" and converted the party into a "private limited company".

In fact, Khurana claimed that he had petitioned former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to defuse the Jinnah controversy, following Advani's trip to Pakistan in June.

Khurana said he had requested Vajpayee to call a meeting of RSS chief KS Sudarshan and Advani for a "heart to heart talk" to defuse tension.

"Vajpayee agreed, saying it is a good idea but Advani was not receptive to it. But ultimately he (Advani) had to go to the RSS headquarters for the patch up," he said.

BJP office-bearers, meanwhile, are puzzled as to why the seasoned politician like Khurana would openly dissent against Advani.

"The day Advani withdrew his resignation and came back to the party headquarters as the president, Khurana welcomed him with a garland and praised him to skies at a recent function in Kashmir, all this happened post-Jinnah," said an office-bearer.

"Clearly Khurana was trying to score a few political brownie points," said another leader, who said that Khurana had been miffed with Advani ever since the party had denied him a Rajya Sabha nomination from Gujarat.

"Unfortunately, Advani survived and is not likely to forget this slight," he added.