Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani on Tuesday asked party colleagues to desist from “infighting” that has dented BJP’s image. Advani was addressing Parliamentary Party attended by all the MPs and several senior leaders and his remarks came in the backdrop of serious issues of dissidence in the party in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi. Advani told his colleagues that BJP’s image got a boost because of the way it raised issues like the violence in Nandigram, developments in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh serial blasts, the Taslima Nasreen affair, price rise and the plight of farmers. But the image is sullied when reports come out about “infighting” in the party, he said asking office-bearers and MPs to guard against dissidence. Those who are opposed to Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s style of functioning have raised a banner of revolt against him in Gujarat, while in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is facing open dissidence. Party secretary Vijay Goel is protesting against extension of the tenure of the Delhi state unit chief Harsh Vardhan.
