Oppn target BJP8217;s RSS connection

It was at this stage that Home Minister L K Advani intervened to say that Golwarkar had already retracted this part of his statement. Advani also got up to intervene when a negative reference was made to the Sangh family by Jaipal Reddy of the Janata Dal. He said that the BJP was associated with 8220;people who wantedConstitutional status to the caste hierarchy,8221; a reference to late Swami Vamdev of the VHP, an RSS outfit.

At this, Advani retorted: 8220;I don8217;t think he ever said that. And even if he had said that, we dissociate ourselves from that.8221;

In fact, this public dissociation of the BJP from the RSS was also an important point in Vajpayee8217;s reply when he said that the government had no hidden agenda. 8220;I have differed on many issues from my friends in the past. We are not the types to get remote controlled,8221; he said. He, however, said that the RSS would be 8220;consulted8221; on major issues, adding: 8220;However, we will take our own decisions.8221;