Thursday, June 30 2005 10:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convenor George Fernandes yesterday (Jun 29, 2005) met former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief L K Advani to end strife between Sangh outfits.

George Fernandes, who is believed to be mediating for an end to bitterness between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP, met Vajpayee and Advani and said the "tension" between the Sangh Parivar outfits should be over.

"I had resolution-oriented talks (with RSS Chief K S Sudarshan)... I feel the tension (between RSS and BJP) should end," he told reporters after shuttling between the residences of Vajpayee and Advani a day after meeting Sudarshan at Nagpur.

Maintaining that he had decades' old relation with RSS, dating back to the days of Golwarkar, he said his visit to the RSS headquarters was "very successful".

"Sudarshan did not utter a single negative word (against BJP) during the two-and-a-half hour meeting I had with him," he said.

Declining to divulge the nature of talks he had with Vajpayee or Advani, the NDA Convenor said, "The briefing is only for them and not for the media". But, at the same time, he asserted that there was no ill-will between RSS and BJP. "I could not find an iota of tension between the RSS and BJP during my meeting with Sudarshan," he said.

To a question, he discounted reports of split in the NDA though its constituents followed separate ideologies.

The meetings assume significance, as Fernandes is believed to have impressed upon the RSS leadership not to attack Advani as that could affect the NDA's prospects in upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

The Congress had yesterday said that visit of George Fernandes to the RSS headquarters and holding discussions with its top brass indicated that the BJP-led opposition alliance was controlled by the Sangh Parivar.

Party spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters that earlier it was claimed that NDA was an independent entity and not controlled by the RSS as was the BJP. But the visit by Fernandes has showed that the claim was hollow, he said adding, "now the mask is off".

He said that it was not that the BJP was in disarray but the same was the case as regards opposition alliance. Sharma said that BJP was a "sinking ship" and Fernandes made a "desperate dash" to Nagpur to hold talks on how save it.