 |
|
|
A TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE New Delhi, September 11 Others who refuse to sign the letter citing various excuses were party General Secretary Arun Jaitley, and Vice-President, Mr Abbas Mukhtar Naqvi. Finally, organisational secretary, Mr Sanjay Joshi signed the letter and Mr Khurana was officially expelled. The dilemma facing the BJP leaders was — which way will the RSS jump. Even known Advani acolytes are at the moment hedging their bets. Says a senior BJP leader: “They know that Mr Advani is serving out his notice period and the rats have already begun deserting the sinking ship. They have not suddenly found new love for Mr Khurana but have their eye on the mothership — the RSS.” Sources reveal that Mr Jaitley cited the fact that the order and letter under the BJP constitution had to be signed by the party President. Mr Naqvi took recourse to a similar excuse. Even Mr Ram Naik, chairman of the disciplinary committee, wanted to give Mr Khurana time but was told that he “should be guided by Mr Jaitley in the matter.”. Mr Jaitley, was of the view that the issue brooked no delay. And, that’s how the latest crisis was unleashed in the BJP. The drama which led to Mr Jajoo being pressed into service is a measure of how far Mr Advani has slipped from a position of unassailable authority to a persona non grata. Senior leaders told the Tribune: “Their is a growing realisation that Advani will not quit and the RSS will have to take drastic action.
Everything now hinges on former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. If he remains steadfast Mr Advani will have to go even if the pretenders work out some cosmetic solution.” Interestingly, Advani baiters
Citing the example of Govindachrya, they say, is wrong. He was never suspended. The issue was not referred to a committee and the RSS just withdrew him from the BJP. The Advani camp’s attempts to draw a parellel with this and coaxing Mr Vajpayee into withdrawing his written statement is insulting. Top leaders say that even if Mr Vajpayee does not take back his remarks and express some sort of faith in Mr Advani’s leadership, Mr Advani is unlikely to budge. The Chennai executive may be the casualty and the latest round of blood-letting in the BJP will go on. And, the hapless Mr Jajoo will continue to suffer as more leaders join in the ranks of the rebels against Mr Advani. The correspondent, who is an anchor with SAB TV, regularly writes for The Tribune. |
|
Khurana
gets formal expulsion order
New Delhi, September 11 While an upset Madan Lal Khurana, who received the letter signed by BJP general secretary (organisation) Sanjay Joshi late last night, rushed to Mr Vajpayee’s residence early today to register his protest, party officials here indicated that the BJP President had further hardened his stand with the former Delhi Chief Minister seeking shelter under the wings of the former Prime Minister. Later another meeting between party General Secretary Pramod Mahajan, who is mediating in the matter, and Mr Vajpayee also seemed to have been futile. Emerging from his meeting with Mr Vajpayee, the former Delhi Chief Minister seemed to have further complicated matters by saying that a section within the party was bent on seeing him out of it. It’s clear that a section of the BJP is against me. It is a matter of concern that the letter has been served on me when talks were on and Mr Vajpayee had expressed his reservations about the decision,” he told reporters after a 90- minute meeting. Claiming that it was Mr Vajpayee who had called him for talks, Mr Khurana said that if the letter had been withheld for 48 hours, it could have been delayed further as well. He, however, said he had total faith in Mr Vajpayee who had issued a public statement on Thursday, saying that Mr Khurana should have been given one more opportunity to explain his stand. As Mr Khurana left, Mr Pramod Mahajan called on the former Prime Minister prior to his departure for Lucknow. While Mr Advani is on a visit to MP, the latest salvo from the Advani camp has deepened further the crisis in the party even as efforts were being made over the past two days to defuse it. While Mr Vajpayee has been reportedly sticking to the stand that a senior leader like Mr Khurana should have been given an opportunity to explain his stand prior to his expulsion on grounds of indiscipline and anti-party activities, Mr Advani is understood to have taken a tough stand that any compromise on the issue of discipline would send a wrong signal to the party cadres. The issue is expected to figure prominently at tomorrow’s meeting of party office-bearers here, initially called to discuss resolutions for the national executive meeting in Chennai next week.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
