Jaswant Singh Book on Jinnah

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BJP leadership divided over rebel Arun Shourie (Lead)
August 25th, 2009 - 8:36 pm ICT by IANS Tell a Friend -

Bharatiya Janata Party New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) A day after Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Arun Shourie created a flutter by calling his party a “kati patang (adrift kite)” and its chief Rajnath Singh “humpty dumpty,” the party leadership was Tuesday divided over initiating disciplinary action against him.

At an evening meeting of BJP general secretaries chaired by Rajnath Singh, one section advocated action against Shourie and another sought a middle path. Party sources said the final call was likely to be taken at another meeting at the residence of BJP veteran L.K. Advani late in the evening.

Party leaders who were crying for Shourie’s head till Tuesday morning were tightlipped.

“There were two opinions at the general secretaries’ meeting. One, he should be sacked just like Jaswant Singh. Another was that the party could not just go on a sacking spree and must address the real issues,” a BJP leader told IANS.

“At the same time, to ensure a wrong message did not go out, the party may decide to issue Shourie a showcause notice and the leadership may hold personal meetings with him,” the source said, pleading anonymity since he is not authorised to speak on internal party issues.

Shourie, upset over the way the BJP is being run, has urged the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the party’s ideological parent, to take greater control of the BJP.

“The way he (Shourie) went out in public about the party’s internal issues is unfortunate,” Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the BJP vice president, told IANS earlier in the day.

“If somebody has grievances, there are enough forums within the party for their redressal. Talking about party leadership in public is indiscipline.”

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy Monday said: “I am sure he wants action against himself. He wants to become a martyr.”

Shourie told IANS: “This is what great leaders like Rudy can think and all this is rubbish.”

The BJP has been in a crisis since its leader and Lok Sabha MP Jaswant Singh was sacked over a book written by him which argued that Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had been over demonised in India.