New Delhi, June 20: On the eve of its national executive meet, the BJP faced fresh challenge from within as Arun Shourie told party president Rajnath Singh that the party was controlled by conspirators and he faced opposition from other leaders over the issue.
In a letter to Singh, Shourie demanded a serious debate in the BJP national executive meet over the party’s electoral debacle. The letter said that conspirators are taking over the party and BJP has failed to show any accountability.
A meeting of the office bearers to finalise the agenda for the national executive this evening witnessed high drama as senior leader Jaswant Singh tried to circulate Shourie’s letter but was stopped from doing so by his other senior party colleagues.
Vinay Katiyar asked Jaswant how the letter he tried to circulate during the party’s last Core Group meeting was leaked to the media.
“Jaswant shot back at Katiyar and said nobody had questioned his credibility in the last 44 years of his political career,” a party leader present in the meeting told agencies.
Jaswant added that he was not answerable to anybody. No sooner had this heated exchange subsided, Vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Mohammad Shahnawaz expressed their ire over the party maintaining silence over the hate-speeches of party leader Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit.
“Rahul Gandhi had not won the elections for the Congress but Varun had lost the polls for the BJP,” they said.
Shourie also wanted circulation of letters written by Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh in the wake of the election defeat for discussion by members of the national executive.
The party is divided with charges and counter-charges by rival factions bringing into question the leadership of L K Advani, who was the party’s prime ministerial candidate, as also party chief Rajnath Singh.
Advani’s anointing of Arun Jaitley as Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Sushma Swaraj as Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was questioned by senior party leaders like Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and Arun Shourie, who have demanded a link between performance and rewards.
Party president Rajnath Singh had to crack the whip and issue a gag order when several leaders went public with their views and discussed the causes of the poll debacle through the media.
The causes of the poll debacle will figure prominently in the national executive, that starts tomorrow in Delhi, though Rajnath has stated that a full-fledged “chintan baithak (brainstorming session)” on the issue will be held in August.
Leaders from the Advani camp are likely to press for collective responsibility for the poll debacle instead of pinning the blame on any one leader. Jaitley, who was the chief election strategist, has been targeted by some BJP leaders who feel he has been rewarded with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha post instead of being held responsible for the loss.
The meet is expected to pass an all-encompassing political resolution which will cover the party’s stand on playing the role of a constructive opposition, taking collective responsibility for the poll debacle, the state of the economy, India’s foreign policy towards Pakistan, US, Australia and other countries, among other issues.
Sources said the tussle for power between the top leaders and the upcoming second-rung ones, especially those in their 50s or below, may also be visible at the meet.
As the party is set to remain away from power for next five years, which makes it a decade since BJP was in power last, enrolling new members will be a challenge besides keeping the flock together, party sources say.
Moreover, this being a year for organisational elections for BJP, the party will discuss the issue in detail. The meet, spread over six sessions, would begin with the address of party chief Rajnath Singh and conclude with an address by Parliamentary Party president L K Advani.
-Agencies