NEW DELHI, 20 April 2005 — Reigniting debate over the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former prime minister and party stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday endorsed the suggestion of RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan that the party should be headed by the next generation of leaders.
Unable to hide his anguish despite seemingly agreeing with Sudarshan’s statement favoring his and BJP chief L.K. Advani’s exit in favor of a younger leadership, Vajpayee told reporters after a meeting of BJP MPs: “It is a good suggestion... I am not doing so much work.”
This was Vajpayee`s first direct reaction to the Rashtriya Swamsewak Sangh chief’s attack on him and his family in a recent interview in which he had asked aging leaders Vajpayee and Advani to make way for the younger leaders. The statement had caused an uproar in the Sangh Parivar after which the BJP leadership had closed ranks behind the “big two” of the party.
Vajpayee, 80, said as far as his own position was concerned, he did not have a post to relinquish. Asked to comment on whether the suggestion was good for Advani too, Vajpayee replied: “It is up to Advani and the party to decide.” To a question whether the second line of leadership was ready to take over, Vajpayee said, “Absolutely. It is ready to take over at any time,” said the former prime minister, fuelling stronger speculations about a possible leadership change in the BJP.
Sudarshan had also come down heavily on Vajpayee’s six-year reign, criticizing his foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya and close aide Brajesh Mishra, who was his national security adviser.
Vajpayee, always known to hit out at detractors in his own inimitable style, had first expressed his distress at a function in Pune last week, where he said: “I do not fear death, but a bad name.”
In his first direct response to Sudarshan’s broadside, Vajpayee yesterday said: “People are entitled to their opinion on the functioning of the government.” But he declined to comment on the aspersions against his own family members. “I read it in newspapers...I will comment at an appropriate time,” he said, resisting further questions.
Parliament Adjourns for the Day
The Parliament’s budget session resumed on a sour note yesterday with the Lok Sabha (lower house) adjourning for the day in the wake of an opposition uproar over former Defense Minister George Fernandes.
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee sounded angry and upset as he announced an abrupt end to the day’s proceedings, after adjourning it earlier for 15 minutes, in the wake of a relentless anti-government offensive by the opposition.
But Somnath made it clear that this was the last day, as far as he was concerned, when he would ever adjourn the 545-seat elected house.
Yesterday was the first day of the resumed budget session, and the opposition launched an onslaught against the government, accusing it of harassing Janata Dal-United leader and former Defense Minister Fernandes.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader V.K. Malhotra said the government had illegally filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging malpractices in military purchases when Fernandes was the defense minister in the BJP-led government that was voted out last year.
As soon as the house assembled, the opposition members, including BJP President L.K. Advani, were on their feet shouting slogans against the government.
They were referring to the fresh affidavit the government has filed in the apex court saying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been asked to probe 23 cases related to alleged malpractices in military purchases.
Despite speaker’s repeated appeals, the members refused to take their seats leading to the house’s adjournment. — Additional input from IANS.
