Sangh pulls up Advani, Togadia indirectly

The Sangh, it added, “has taken serious note of this and our elders will soon talk to the concerned people and convey the Sangh’s reservations’’.

Although the statement did not mention any name, BJP leaders privately admitted that the reference to Advani was obvious. They also pointed out that the use of the term “couple of like-minded organisations’’ was to soften the attack and make clear that Advani was not the only target.

As the “supreme’’ pater familias of the Sangh Parivar, the RSS leaders wanted to appear “even-handed’’. Therefore, while taking serious note of the ’’ideological erosion’’ of the BJP (epitomised by Advani’s remarks on Jinnah, Akhand Bharat and related issues during his Pakistan visit), the RSS also criticised the ’’behavioural misdemeanour’’ of Togadia.

The statement’s claim that “several imaginary stories have appeared in the media about the proceedings at Surat” was aimed to set at rest speculation that the RSS had already served marching orders to Advani. While the statement confirmed the deep misgivings harboured by RSS pracharaks about the BJP leadership, it also left the door open for “further negotiations” between Advani and the Sangh, sources said.

“We have said that our elders will talk to the people concerned. Let us see what comes out of the talks,” a Sangh functionary said, indicating that Advani’s “response” will determine whether the RSS will withdraw support to him or let him continue for a while.

BJP sources also said the statement had put the ball in “Advani’s court”, and the BJP chief would have to take measures to assuage the Sangh as well large sections of his own party who are not sure about his future intentions.

Advani has already “backtracked” from his attempts at an image makeover over the last few days—first, by accepting the resignation of his aide Sudheendra Kulkarni and then by visiting Ayodhya (albeit belatedly) and reiterating his commitment to the old “mandir wahin banayenge” line.

However, the fact that the Sangh was impelled to issue the statement after his Ayodhya visit and after the “sacking” of Kulkarni, shows that it has not forgiven Advani for his “lapses” and wants a more unambiguous commitment from him, sources said.

That Sudheendra Kulkarni is continuing with his “anti-Hindutva” line even after resigning his posts as BJP secretary and Advani’s political secretary has particularly incensed many sections in the party and the Parivar, sources said. BJP leaders said his article—published in The Indian Express yesterday—calling upon Hindus to apologise for the December 6 demolition of the Babri Masjid was “the worst of all the pieces he has written so far” and calls for disciplinary action.

But Kulkarni is not the only sore point. The RSS, sources said, has been unhappy with the BJP leadership for a long time now because of its “ideological deviations” during its years in power. But power had its own uses even for the Sangh and,therefore, it kept largely silent in the six years of NDA rule.

But now that the BJP is out of power, the RSS wants to re-establish itself as the “stern patriarch”and bring all errant members to heel. Advani’s Jinnah remarks provided a perfect pretext to force a “course correction” for the BJP, sources said.

The fallout of today’s statement will unfold over the next few days as the BJP prepares for its crucial national executive meeting in Chennai later this month. If Advani fails to “appease” the “elders”, then the pressure on him to step down from either or both his posts is certain to increase, sources said.