The Hindu : National : BJP admits Varun’s speeches did harm its image

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 20, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

BJP admits Varun’s speeches did harm its image

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: For the first time since the declaration of the election results, the Bharatiya Janata Party acknowledged that Varun Gandhi’s hate speeches in Pilibhit might have done irreparable harm to its image and what he said did not reflect the party’s brand of Hindutva.

At a meeting of party office-bearers here on Friday, ahead of the party’s two-day National Executive Committee meeting over the weekend, the ‘Varun’ effect on the Lok Sabha election and the need for a full, free and frank discussion on the poll debacle were raised. BJP president Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meet, said that at the conclave members would be allowed to raise issues related to the poll defeat, but personal attacks must be avoided.

Two Muslim office-bearers, M.A. Naqvi and Shahnawaz Husain, apparently raised the ‘Varun’ issue. Some senior party leaders, including the party president, pointed out the BJP’s ideology believed in equal respect for all religions. Some members felt the party too easily believed Mr. Gandhi’s version that the compact discs of his hate-speech were fake.

Reference

A reference to L.K. Advani’s political aide, Sudheendra Kulkarni, also came up for, Mr. Kulkarni was reported to have said that the party’s minority cell was defunct.

But the issue that has been exercising some senior party leaders recently — lack of a serious discussion on the poll debacle and a series of “leaks” to the media — were raised by some members. Mr. Singh conceded the demand that the issue be discussed at the coming national executive committee meeting, but without making personal attacks.

On the issue of “leaks,” Jaswant Singh said he stood by the issues he had raised. He had mentioned the need for a correlation between “reward” and “election results,” but had no idea how and why the note had been leaked to the press.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National