BJP comes under attack from RSS for dilution of core ideology

Top RSS functionaries today came down heavily on the BJP leadership during their annual coordination meeting, criticising it for lack of mutual communication, speaking in different voices, "dilution" of nationalist ideology and not being an effective opposition.

RSS leaders Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Madandas Devi and Suresh Soni held an eight-hour long meeting with BJP top brass in which they expressed the Sangh Parivar's resentment over "dilution of BJP's core ideology" in the functioning of the party, sources said.

BJP was represented by LK Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi and Ananth Kumar, among others.

The RSS also assessed the performance of Gadkari as the BJP President since he took over six months ago.

"The RSS emphasised on more co-ordination among the seniormost BJP leaders to amicably resolve differences and also to prevent leaders from speaking in different voices on important issues," a senior party leader said.

One such issue is the inclusion of caste data in the ongoing Census. RSS is of the view that caste should not be included in the Census as it is divisive and does not go with the Sangh Parivar's ideology of inclusiveness and nationalism.

But BJP, egged on by its OBC leaders like Gopinath Munde, has stated in Parliament that it favours inclusion of caste and other data in Census as it would help in policy formulation.

Despite differences with the Sangh and a section within the BJP (Joshi has publicly taken the RSS line), the matter was not discussed in the recent Patna national executive.

However, senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar described today's meeting as a routine yearly affair in which important issues like "national security, terrorism and Maoism" were discussed.

"We discussed ways to further the nationalist ideology and also how to strengthen the BJP," he added.

Sources said RSS was also of the view that BJP showed undue haste in taking back expelled leader Jaswant Singh into the party-fold.

Without naming former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti and ex-general secretary (Organisation) Sanjay Joshi, the RSS leaders said there were others in the queue who deserved to be inducted into BJP more than Jaswant Singh.

RSS feels return of the former external affairs minister is another example of dilution of the core Sangh ideology.

The Sangh wants BJP to come clear on its stand on MA Jinnah. Singh was expelled for authoring Jinnah-India, Partition, Independence in which he praised the Pakistan founder and held Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru responsible for partition.

Singh still stands by his book and has not apologised.

Party sources said Gadkari is in talks with the state units of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as well as the central leadership to find a way out for Uma's entry.

There are murmurs that Joshi may also be inducted into Gadkari's team as a RSS representative in the party.

Sources said RSS felt that BJP was not acting as an "effective opposition" and mentioned the Bhopal gas tragedy issue in which the party "failed" to corner the government despite allegations of involvement of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in allowing UCC CEO Warren Anderson to leave the country.

Even on the recent problems with JD(U) in Bihar, RSS felt the BJP leadership had failed to take a clear stand and convey it to the party activists, who were left "confused".