BJP Future - 7

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Shourie taunts Rajnath, BJP</b>
pioneer.com
Kumar Uttam | New Delhi
<b>Expulsion likely after calling party a kati patang, top leaders ‘Humpty Dumpty’, ‘Alice in Blunderland’</b>

The BJP was in the thick of yet another crisis on Monday with former Union Minister Arun Shourie slamming the leadership and asking the RSS to take control of the party to rescue it from those have turned it into a “private company”. .

<b>Shourie’s outburst left the BJP leadership squirming as he called the party a kati patang and its president Rajnath Singh “Alice in Blunderland” and “Humpty Dumpty”.</b>

Coming within days of expulsion of veteran Jaswant Singh, Shourie defiance has added to the problems of the BJP, and left it with few options but to act against him. Speculation was rife about his imminent expulsion, which was also indicated by party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy. <b>“He wants to become a martyr. We will give him a chance to become popular,”</b> Rudy said.

Soon after the telecast of Shourie’s damning interview, Rajnath Singh held an hour-long meeting with party’s organisational secretary and<b> RSS pointsman Ramlal. Rajnath also spoke to LK Adavni, Arun Jaitley and RSS leader Suresh Soni and discussed disciplinary action against Shourie.</b>

<b>The journalist-turned-politician, who had been embarrassing the party by raising “uncomfortable questions” through letters, newspaper articles and TV interviews, said even raising questions within the party forum was being dubbed as “indiscipline” and dared the party to act against him.</b>

In an interview to a private news channel, Shourie said, <b>“If you want to call this (his action) indiscipline, ok, call it. You want to be Humpty Dumpty and make words mean what you say and act, then I presume you already have in your mind to act against me or anybody, so act.”</b>

Daring the party to act against him, Shourie, who was upset over the ‘shameless and baseless’ expulsion of Jaswant Singh, told NDTV: “<b>Even raising these questions (within party forum) is becoming indiscipline”. He went on to add: “Those who have brought about this situation and brought about the party to this pass, and they are the fellows who are hurting the party’s interest. They were planting stories for the past five years against each other, including Advani and Rajnath Singh. Is this discipline?” Though he stopped short of taking names he dropped enough hints about his targets.</b>

The former Union Minister said the BJP took refuge in the name of Sardar Patel to target Jaswant and his book so that LK Advani was insulated of all attacks that could have been unleashed on him for his remarks on Jinnah.

“<b>They (BJP leadership) acted without even reading the book. Nowhere in his write up has Jaswant written something offending Patel. But his (Patel) name was invoked to deflect all possible attack away from Advani, who had called Jinnah a great man,” </b>Shourie told reporters here.

Later, talking to reporters, <b>he suggested a complete cleanup of the BJP and quoted Mao Zedong to drive home his point. “Bombard the headquarters. Clean up everybody from the top. Bring ten-fifteen people from the States who are competent, honest and dedicated and reconstruct immediately.”</b>

<b>He said the party was being run like a private company in which top leaders were indulging in mutual projection and mutual protection. Leaders like BC Khanduri and Vasundhara Raje were being asked to resign as part of accountability for the defeat but the top leaders would not resign because they have already “</b>owned up responsibility”.

Asked whether Advani should go, Shourie said removal of one leader is not enough. <b>“My prescription is jhatka (one swift execution) not halal (slow execution). One or two is not enough... saare ke saare (lock, stock and barrel). The current leadership cannot be expected to change the situation....There should be total transformation.”</b>

Invoking the RSS, Shourie said that the Sangh has been too liberal over the happenings in the BJP.<b> “RSS should crack the whip...When they come in, there will be other consequences. I have been pleading with them to keep an eagle-eye on the conduct of individuals,”</b> he said.

Referring to Jaswant Singh’s statement that Advani prevented Vajpayee from acting against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,<b> he said that on a Prime Minister’s flight to Goa in 2002 it was decided that Modi would be asked to step down</b>.

In the meeting, Modi also agreed but before he could say something there was an “orchestrated chorus” that he should not resign. Then Advani said it was already late for the public meeting and that the issue could be decided the next day and it was left at that.

Shourie is a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP from Uttar Pradesh and his term expires in July next year. Given the strength of the BJP’s legislature party in the State Assembly, it was unlikely that Shourie would have got a re-nomination.

A meeting of the office bearers to finalise the agenda for the national executive that evening witnessed high drama when Jaswant tried to circulate Shourie’s letter and was stopped from doing so by his senior colleagues. Shourie later created a hullabaloo at the national executive meeting and subsequently wrote a series of articles which, party leaders believe, were a direct attack on Advani, Rajnath and Jaitley.

Senior BJP leaders say Shourie’s remarks were “unacceptable” and he has refused to mend ways even after being given sufficient time. “Shourie was a distinguished journalist and now a politician. Perhaps he wants to return to his profession. We do not have anything more to offer to him,” BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

Shourie is a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP from Uttar Pradesh and his term expires in July next year. Given the strength of the BJP’s legislature party in the State Assembly, it was unlikely that Shourie would have got a re-nomination. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->