New Delhi, August 18: Breaking his silence over the leadership crisis in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday cautioned it about factionalism and said it must address real issues and put an end to factionalism, as it had suffered a “nasty jolt” in the elections.
“It was a nasty jolt, quite unexpected, and it destabilised the party. Whatever happened was not very good, even BJP leaders have said this,” he said while speaking to a private news channel in an interview.
He said that young generation should be put at the helm of affairs, adding “It is a universal rule that the young generation must replace the old generation,” when asked about the aging top leadership of the BJP.
“When, where and how (it happens), they will have to decide the modus operandi,” he said, and quickly added that “transition is necessary,” he said.
In a stern message to the party a day ahead of its three-day chintan baithak (introspection session) that begins in Shimla, the RSS chief said: “They have to get their balance back.” Bhagwat said the sooner they do so, the better.
Asked if senior BJP leader Advani should carry on for next five years as leader of opposition, Bhagwat said, “That they will have to decide. If they come and ask for our suggestion, we will give it to them.”
About the transition to young leadership by the next general elections, he pointed out: “We have been saying that since 2003. Whenever they ask us how should our party be, we have told them you have young men, bring them slowly forward. At all levels of the party.”
“The BJP leaders express their angst about this (factionalism), they are keen to restore it,” he added.
Bhagwat said he had not applied himself to how the party should resolve the differences between its leaders. “I have not given a thought to the internal situation of the BJP. That is not my job. I tell them to sit together and amend things,” he pointed out.
He clearly advised the party not to lose sight of its goals. “Their party had a mission and that mission should be kept in sight. They should think where they have gone wrong. The general condition of the party should be paid attention to.”
Mohan Bhagwat said he told senior BJP leader L.K. Advani who went to meet him recently to find ways to resolve the internal strife.
And added: “He came to me. He wanted to meet me. He described all these things. I told him that you consider how this situation came to be because it was a disciplined party, was a very good party. It was a party with a difference.”
“In the chintan baithak. All sit together and think about it. Personal considerations must be kept away. This is what I told him,” Bhagwat said.
He asserted that the party would have to be clear on the ideology and there should be a dialogue with the Sangh as a while also.
“They should be reasonably sound and articulate about the ideology. You should have a collective work pattern and should have dialogue with all the thought brothers. They should have a system of dialogue within them,” Bhagwat said.
“Theirs should be a party with a difference and lastly they should bring the young generation forth,” he added.
-Agencies