What appeared to be a joint snub by the RSS and the BJP to former prime minister A.B. Vajpayee is slowly turning into an acceptance of his concerns over Gujarat. And, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi does not seem as safe as he did two days ago. RSS joint general secretary in charge of BJP Madan Das Devi met Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani today in order to devise a formula that will be palatable to all — the RSS, the BJP and Vajpayee.Sources say Devi will call on Vajpayee too, on his return from Manali on June 19. ‘‘We want to dispel the impression created by the recent chain of events that we are against Vajpayeeji,’’ they said.A line of compromise which is emerging is that the party may, after all, take up the Modi issue at its national executive in Mumbai. ‘‘It may be discussed either at the office-bearers’ meeting a day ahead of the executive session or at the meeting of the general secretaries,’’ BJP sources said. Even BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who had declared on Tuesday that the Gujarat issue stands ‘‘closed’’, backtracked today, saying that the party has not ‘‘rejected’’ it. ‘‘It would be discussed,’’ he said, though in context of organisational issues in the state.Sources say that Devi has also told Advani to take care to prevent the impression that the party lost due to the Gujarat riots and that Modi had to be punished for it. The task is difficult as few would buy any other reason provided by the BJP.The BJP and RSS both feel called upon to check any further damage to Vajpayee’s position as he’s still the best bet as far as acceptability among the masses and allies is concerned. Agencies quoted party president Venkaiah Naidu saying in Bangalore: ‘‘We hold Vajpayee in high esteem. There is no question of bypassing him.’’ And RSS spokesman Ram Madhav maintained they ‘‘want this whole controversy to come to an end.’’
