Sunday, September 18 2005 18:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress, a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), today (Sept 18, 2005) described Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president L K Advani's decision to step down from the post on December 30 as an 'internal matter of BJP'.

"It is an internal matter of BJP. He must have taken the decision considering the situation within his own party. We hope that whoever leads the party in his place will do a good job and internal bickerings within the BJP will stop",

Trinamool Congress spokesman Saugata Roy told sources.

Maintaining that he had accepted the responsibility as Party President in October last year as his predecessor Venkaiah Naidu had some personal problems, Advani said, "I have decided however that I shall demit office and the party stewardship should be taken over by some other colleague."

He said the BJP leadership has had no hesitation in consulting Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionaries 'from time to time and depending on the issue at hand.'

"After such consultations, the party takes its own independent decisions. Some of these decisions may differ, and have indeed differed, from the stated positions of the RSS and certain constituents of the Sangh Parivar," senior Party leader Jaswant Singh told reporters here quoting from Advani's concluding statement.

The BJP chief, however, regretted that lately an impression has gained ground that no political or organisational decision can be taken without the consent of the RSS functionaries.

"This perception, we hold, will do no good either to the party or to the RSS. The RSS too must be concerned that such a perception will dwarf its greater mission of man-making and nation-building. Both the RSS and the BJP must consciously exert to dispel this impression," Advani said.

Nonetheless, he said the RSS should continue to play its role to strengthen the ethical, moral and idealistic moorings of the workers as well as functionaries of BJP as in the past and "this is in the larger interest of the nation."

The BJP, Advani said, greatly appreciated the continuing interaction with RSS and other sister organisations.

"Their views provide valuable inputs for our decision making process, But the BJP as a political party is accountable to the people, its performance being periodically put to test in elections," he said.

"So in a democratic multi-party polity, an ideologically driven party like the BJP has to function in a manner that enables it to keep its basic ideological stances intact and at the same time expand itself to reach the large sections of the people outside the layers of all ideology," he said.

Earlier, in his valedictory address, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee heaped lavish praise on Advani saying he had always worked indefatigably in the background and never asserted himself in the forefront.

Vajpayee recalled, 'the great help, contribution and assistance' he received from Advani since his first term in Parliament.

The former Prime Minister also stressed on the 'need for exercising freedom of expression with due sense of discipline and restraint.'

Asked whether Advani was quitting under pressure from RSS, Jaswant Singh said, "I don't think he is a person who succumbs and his statement also does not indicate that."

To a question on who would succeed Advani, Jaswant Singh said, "I hold no office and it is the function of the party organisation to choose his successor."

Asked if he was a possible choice, the former External Affairs Minister said, "I have no such desire."

On whether he agreed with Advani's observations on RSS, Singh said, "I am a disciplined soldier of the party and will never disagree with the President and certainly not in front of the press."

Asked about the party's reaction on Advani's decision to step down, he said, "The party backs him in all his decisions and BJP looks to the future with confidence. We have a mission to fulfil"

Singh replied in the negative when asked if Advani had been a stopgap arrangement and said his ascension was a 'collective decision' of the party.

He also categorically asserted that Advani's decision would not have any adverse impact on the party's performance in the Bihar Assembly elections next month.

"We feel we will continue to achieve what we have set for ourselves that is to unseat the unholy and corrupt organisation of the RJD-Congress combine," he said.