The Hindu : RSS may not interfere in Joshi affair

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 24, 2003

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National

RSS may not interfere in Joshi affair

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI SEPT. 23. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is not likely to interfere in the Murli Manohar Joshi affair which has virtually divided the Bharatiya Janata Party into two warring camps.

"The RSS will not interfere. We are of the opinion that the matter of Dr. Joshi's resignation from the Cabinet is an issue between him and the Prime Minister," the RSS spokesperson, Ram Madhav, said today.

This was decided by the RSS after the Sarsanghchalak, K.S. Sudershan, arrived here today and discussed the subject with other senior RSS leaders, including H.V. Seshadiri and Madan Das Devi. Mr. Devi is the BJP in-charge of the RSS that gives the responsibility of overseeing the functioning of various RSS fronts to each of its senior leaders.

Earlier in the day, there were reports that Mr. Sudershan and Dr. Joshi would meet today, but the meeting did not take place. "We have not yet received a request for such a meeting from Dr. Joshi," said Mr. Madhav who had met Dr. Joshi late last evening.

To a question, he said the issue of Dr. Joshi's resignation - which the BJP wants him to take back - has not been discussed between Mr. Sudershan and Mr. Advani since September 19 when the Rae Bareily court order came discharging Mr. Advani and taking a decision favouring the chargesheeting of seven BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders, including Dr. Joshi and Uma Bharti, the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Madhya Pradesh.

Clearly, there are some in Dr. Joshi's camp who have been hoping for, and depending on, senior RSS leaders, including Mr. Sudershan, playing an active role in defusing the stand-off between Dr. Joshi and the party organisation which is almost completely controlled by the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani.

While maintaining that Dr. Joshi was a "very senior leader of the party and extremely respected", the BJP spokesperson, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, did confirm, in response to questions, that as yet neither Mr. Advani nor the party president, Venkaiah Naidu, had met Dr. Joshi. But that, he hinted, was not significant — the press was making too much of it. In response to reports that the party had not conveyed to Dr. Joshi its decision that no one should resign from their positions till after Dr. Joshi had tendered his resignation, Mr. Naqvi said "there is no need for us to tell the press when the decision was conveyed to Dr. Joshi."

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