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Sangh Parivar takes the BJP bit between its teeth

George Iype in New Delhi

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's attempt to fire at the Sangh Parivar from the shoulder of his coalition partners has not gone down well with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal.

On Wednesday and Thursday, top leaders of the RSS, VHP and BD met in New Delhi to debate the apex coordination committee's decisions that the ruling coalition allies imposed on the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership.

Holding the Sangh Parivar responsible for the recent attacks against Christians, especially in Gujarat and Orissa, the coordination committee had asked the BJP leadership to ensure that the government and the party would not be bogged down by the organisations belonging to its "ideological fraternity."

But what has upset the Sangh Parivar is not the ruling alliance partner's tirade against the Sangh outfits, but BJP president Kushabhau Thakre's decision to sign the resolution adopted at the meeting.

"By signing it, the BJP leadership has meekly accepted the charge that the Sangh organisations are behind the attacks against minorities in recent months," a RSS leader told Rediff On The Net.

He said senior Sangh leaders who have assessed the coalition's performance are of the opinion that the BJP is "becoming more and more a captive of its allies." "It is a moment of crisis for the BJP because it is neither here nor there on many issues, including economic policies and the minority agenda," he said.

But the Sangh functionary said the RSS leadership is of the view that the BJP can never move away from the ideological fraternity, even though the party is enmeshed in political compulsions of running a coalition government.

The meeting of the RSS, VHP and BD leaders also decided not to put an end to their campaign for a Swadeshi economic policy and their stir against issues like conversions.

Soon after the meeting, RSS joint general secretary K Sudershan, VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Acharya Giriraj Kishore met Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani to tell him that their campaign against conversion was not meant to damage the image of the coalition as alleged by the allies.

Advani in turn reportedly told the Sangh leaders that the BJP was not attempting to move away from the Sangh Parivar, but was trying to ensure that the coalition government acts in unison, in the face of the current crisis.

Advani also made it clear that despite the public hue and cry against the Sangh affiliates vis-a-vis the attacks against Christian missionaries, no Sangh leader has so far been officially implicated by the home ministry. "We had to assure the allies that the Sangh organisations have nothing to do with the politics of governance," the home minister told them.

The Sangh leaders were also told that the coordination committee resolution was prepared not by the BJP, but the Prime Minister's Office, leaving no room for doubt that the decision to up the ante against the Sangh Parivar was a government decision taken by Vajpayee even if it was not wholeheartedly accepted by the BJP leadership.

While the Sangh Parivar is apparently satisfied with the explanations from the home minister and the BJP leadership, it has pledged to continue the agitation against the conversion of tribals to Christianity.

To begin with, the VHP has convened a Dharam Sansad in Ahmedabad from Friday to debate the issue of conversion and to chalk out its future strategy to counter the Christian missionary work in tribal areas, especially in the North-East.

Though the VHP leadership has invited top leaders, including Vajpayee, Thakre and Advani to attend the programme, the BJP bosses have decided not to participate in it in the wake of their assurance to the alliance partners.

But many believe that despite Vajpayee's pledge to rein in the Sangh Parivar, the war with the Sangh leadership is likely to intensify during the Budget session of Parliament.

The RSS's economic wing, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, has already submitted to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha its recommendations for a complete Swadeshi economic policy in the Union Budget scheduled for February 27.

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