Now Vajpayee bats for RSS

In a cryptic one-liner that served as a defence shield against rockets fired at the RSS by Uma Bharati and L K Advani, A B Vajpayee today de...

In a cryptic one-liner that served as a defence shield against rockets fired at the RSS by Uma Bharati and L K Advani, A B Vajpayee today declared that 8216;8216;Sangh hastakshep nahin karta The Sangh does not interfere.8217;8217;

Vajpayee8217;s soundbyte, while departing from a book release function here this evening, was music to the Sangh8217;s ears, coming as it did on the heels of Bharati8217;s diatribe against RSS joint general secretary Suresh Soni for 8216;8216;interfering8217;8217; in BJP affairs in Madhya Pradesh. That Vajpayee spoke for the first time since BJP chief Advani8217;s public criticism of the RSS8217;s meddlesome ways in Chennai last month8212;and practically contradicted him today8212;is also significant.

Earlier, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav confirmed receipt of Bharati8217;s letter to sarsanghchalak K S Sudarshan and said its contents would be discussed by Sangh elders.

Bharati8217;s letter, sources said, had enraged the RSS as well as sections of the BJP. 8216;8216;The tone and tenor of the letter is highly objectionable,8217;8217; an RSS insider said. Far from helping Bharati, her missive to the Sangh chief may have further damaged her prospects of returning to Bhopal as chief minister or regaining her post as general secretary, sources said.

Vajpayee, who has not spoken in public since the Chennai meet, faced a volley of questions today on recent events rocking the BJP. Vajpayee said since he had not read Bharati8217;s letter, he could not comment on it.

But to a specific query as to whether he agreed that the RSS was interfering in BJP affairs, the former prime minister said, 8216;8216;Sangh hastakshep nahin karta.8217;8217; He repeated it, saying there was 8216;8216;no question8217;8217; of RSS8217; interference.

RSS insiders have been privately gloating over the fact that no significant BJP leader has taken up Advani8217;s call for a 8216;8216;debate8217;8217; on BJP-RSS relations nor has anyone echoed Advani8217;s redefinition of the ties as 8216;8216;symbiotic8217;8217; rather than 8216;8216;umbilical.8217;8217; Pramod Mahajan, for instance, not only ruled out a public debate on relations with the RSS but also underlined that the two organisations shared a 8216;8216;mother-child8217;8217; relationship. Even Bharati, who appeared to side with Advani in accusing RSS of interference, took pains to highlight her grievance against Suresh Soni and not the Sangh as a whole.

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Bharati, sources said, is expected to get in touch with the Sangh leadership over the next couple of days to reiterate that she was only drawing their attention to the 8216;8216;damage8217;8217; caused by Soni8217;s 8216;subjective8217;8217; handling of MP affairs since he belongs to the state and not attacking the RSS per se.

While public support from Mahajan, Bharati, Sushma Swaraj et al since Advani8217;s Chennai speech bolstered the RSS, Vajpayee8217;s certificate has come as a real shot-in-the arm since he was traditionally seen as anti-RSS.

But over the last few months, RSS-Vajpayee relations have improved almost in tandem with the deterioration in RSS-Advani ties. But given Vajpayee8217;s penchant for contradicting one enigmatic soundbyte with an equally cryptic comment, no one is sure whether his pro-RSS stance today was a one-off response or part of a sustained strategy to defuse the tensions within the Parivar.