BJP will not pull the plug

After meeting party leaders in Bhubaneswar, BJP general secretary in charge of the state Vinay Katiyar told The Indian Express: “Corrective measures are being taken to bring the situation under control. The BJP-BJD coalition Government will continue to function smoothly.”

Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke in a similar vein in the Capital, and the RSS, too, appeared to be have softened. “Local administration has failed; the guilty must be brought to book fast, but we want the situation to stabilise,” said former RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav.

On Thursday, BJP state president Suresh Pujari, leader of BJP legislature party B B Harichandan and deputy leader Manmohan Samal met Patnaik to discuss the issue. While BJP president Rajnath Singh had spoken to Patnaik after the VHP leader’s killing, RSS sources said the Orissa CM also spoke to the Sangh Parivar top brass in the state.

The BJP-RSS combine, however, also used the occasion to simultaneously increase its leverage with the BJD in the state. “While the alliance is intact, we also want the state Government to act firmly on the two legislations against religious conversions and cow slaughter,” said Katiyar.