The BJP’s current state as a party in perpetual crisis got reinforced yet again today with the central leadership suspending veteran Delhi strongman Madanlal Khurana for his acts of ‘‘gross indiscipine’’, the latest instance of which was Khurana’s letter to Advani demanding the removal of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to clean the ‘‘taint’’ on the party because of the 2002 Gujarat riots. This is bound to cast a shadow on the BJP’s crucial Chennai national executive meeting if it is held on schedule from September 16-18. Announcing the decision this evening, BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said Advani took the action following ‘‘sifarish’’ (requests) from party general secretaries this morning that ‘‘enough was enough.’’ Khurana had been attacking the party leadership in public for too long and should not be allowed to get away with it. Advani acceded to the ‘‘requests’’ and asked Swaraj to announce it to the press, she said. The decision appeared to be a desperate attempt by Advani to regain a measure of authority at a time when he himself is serving his ‘‘notice period’’ following an uneasy truce with the RSS over his ‘‘ideological deviations’’ and facing dissidence in state unit after state unit. Although Khurana had attacked Advani over his Jinnah remarks earlier and had openly stated that he had lost confidence in the party chief’s leadership, the fact that he was suspended over his ‘‘remove Modi’’ demand is likely to complicate matters further for the BJP central leadership. Instead of stemming dissidence, today’s decision could provide more impetus to the VHP-backed anti-Modi campaign launched by Gujarat dissidents, BJP insiders fear. Khurana was active over the last few days when the Gujarat rebels, led by Keshubhai Patel, were in the capital. That Keshubhai Patel and his men pointedly chose to meet Vajpayee and Joshi but not Advani during their Delhi sojourn and hobnobbed with Khurana was the first indication that the anti-Advani and anti-Modi elements were joining hands. The suspension of Khurana for demanding Modi’s removal may end up strengthening this nascent partnership. To prevent such an impression from gaining ground, Sushma Swaraj was at pains to point out that the decision to suspend Khurana, serve him a show-cause notice seeking a reply within 15 days, and divesting him of his responsibilites (as zonal in charge of Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh) were taken not because of the substance of his demands but for the manner in which they were made. ‘‘No one is prevented from raising issues. But they must raise it only within the party forum,’’ Swaraj said, underlining that the suspension was because he went public with his grievances and ‘‘addressed the party through the media.’’ BJP leaders are hopeful that Khurana too—who they claimed is in a state of ‘‘shock’’ at the party’s disciplinary action—would follow Uma’s example and return, chastened, to the party fold. Khurana, however, gave no such indication today. ‘‘ I am ready to face any action,’’ he told reporters, but refused to answer questions on the suspension till he received the show cause notice.
