RSS, BJP, Govt to improve co-ordination

The official line, however, was that the meeting was convened by the Prime Minister to felicitate K S Sudarshan on being nominated as the new RSS Sarsanghchalak.

The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister, his Cabinet colleagues L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, BJP president Kushabhau Thakre, his teammates Jana Krishnamurthy, K N Govindacharya, M Venkaiah Naidu and Narendra Modi and the entire RSS top brass, including its new chief, his predecessor, Rajendra Singh, better known as Rajju Bhaiya, general secretary Mohanrao Bhagwat, his predecessor, H V Seshadri, and joint general secretary Madan Das Devi.

Also present were Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh founder Dattopant Thengadi, a bitter critic of the NDA government’s economic policies, Swadeshi Jagran Manch co-convenor S Gurumurthy and VHP working president Ashok Singhal.

The Government and the Sangh have been at loggerheads over issues relating to the country’s economic policy. Of late, the latter has also expressed its concern over the deterioration in the security environment in the country. The meeting, which lasted for around two-and-a-half hours, took off from where the Bangalore conclave had left in January last year.

Amidst the sabre-rattling between the various arms of the RSS and the Government over the swadeshi issue, senior leaders of the BJP, including Vajpayee, Advani and Thakre, met the RSS top brass, including the then chief Rajju Bhaiya and his deputies Seshadri and Sudarshan immediately after the BJP’s national executive meeting in the first week of January last year.

Besides declaring a truce, the two sides then had stressed the need for a continuous dialogue in order to ensure better coordination between the Government, the BJP and the RSS.

Last night’s meeting began with Sudarshan voicing his concern over the Tripura government’s failure to trace the five Sangh activists who were abducted by militants six months ago.

The RSS leaders are also learnt to have expressed their concern over the deviations from the BJP’s stated economic policy, especially those which were adversely affecting the domestic industry, particularly the small-scale and cottage sectors.

Vajpayee reportedly referred to the compulsions faced by his government. Most of the decisions, he said, were being taken in pursuance of the commitments made by the earlier governments. He is also learnt to have referred to the difficulties confronting the ruling coalition because of the public airing of views by the RSS leaders.

BJP general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. "The RSS leaders also made various suggestions concerning the country’s security. The Government is examining them," he said.