Arun Shourie attacks BJP Leaders

NEW DELHI: The simmering crisis in BJP deepened on Monday with senior leader Arun Shourie attacking the party leadership, saying that even raising questions within the party forum was being dubbed as "indiscipline" and that some leaders at the top were behaving as 'Humpty Dumpty'. Shourie raised the banner of revolt against the leadership by demanding that RSS take over the party and change its top brass lock, stock and barrel.

He also virtually dared the party to take action against him but said if it did it, "they are only killing the messenger".

Joining the ranks of dissidents in the party, which is reeling under internal dissidence after the Lok Sabha defeat, the journalist-turned-politician, who was a minister in the Vajpayee government, hit out at party president Rajnath Singh calling him an "Alice in Blunderland" and that the party was a kati patang (kite without a string).

"In my view, the BJP is a kati patang. Unless it is got hold of swiftly by....I don't see people within the party who now have such authority....if anybody can do it, it is only the RSS (that can do it)," he told a private television channel.

He later told reporters that like once Mao Ze Dong had said, "Bombard the headquarters. Clean up everybody from the top. Bring ten-fifteen people from the states who are competent, honest and dedicated and reconstruct immediately."

"Even raising these questions (within party forum) is becoming indiscipline," the former union minister told a private television channel while responding to a question on expulsion of Jaswant Singh.

Without naming anybody, he said there were people in the party who have "brought about this situation and brought the party to this pass. They are the ones who are hurting the party."

Shourie said there are some people in BJP who have been "planting stories for the last five years against each one of us, including Mr (L K) Advani and including Rajnath Singh in the press by six journalists".

Questioning whether that was "discipline", he said "if you want to call this (his action) indiscipline, ok, call it. But we feel it (party) is an important institution, the party is an important institution."

Throwing a virtual challenge to the party leadership to act against him for his utterances, he said "So, you want to be Humpty Dumpty and make words mean what you say and act, then I presume you already have in your mind to act against me or anybody, so act."

Source: Times of India