New Delhi: In a damage-control exercise, top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on February 13 met and decided not to speak in
different voices on crucial issues including Ayodhya and to impress on organisations
like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) not to criticise the government openly.
The meeting, which lasted over 80 minutes at the RSS headquarters, came within two
days of VHP firebrand Praveen Togadia demanding disputed land at Ayodhya, going
beyond its earlier claim to only the undisputed area.
While RSS was represented at the meeting by general secretary Mohan Bhagwat and
joint general secretary-in-charge of BJP Madan Das Devi as also joint spokesman Ram
Madhav, the BJP team led by party president M Venkaiah Naidu included the five
general secretaries Pramod Mahajan, Sanjay Joshi, Rajnath Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
and Anita Arya.
RSS sources said the leaders stressed that sangh parivar outfits and BJP should not
speak in different voices on crucial issues including Ram Janmabhoomi and foreign
policy and hindutva organisations should desist from public criticism of the
government.
"We totally agree with VHP on building a grand temple for Ram lalla at Ayodhya. We
only differ on the mechanism and the time-frame and these can be sorted out,"
Mahajan told reporters after the meeting.
The RSS sources said organisational matters, including deputation of RSS leaders to
the party ahead of crucial Assembly elections later this year as also Lok Sabha
polls next year, was discussed at the meeting.
"We agreed to increase co-ordination between the different sangh parivar
organisations to work together for the elections," the sources said.
Meanwhile, party general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the meeting was the
continuation of the meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and top
brass of BJP and RSS late last year in which it was decided to bridge the
communication gap between the ruling party and various sangh parivar outfits and
remove any misunderstanding, whatsoever.
"We decided to continue with this dialogue process at today's meeting," Naqvi
said.
PTI
