Purti-plagued Gadkari gets Advani, Sushma by his side
25 Oct 2012 7:22 AM IST
The current leadership crisis engulfing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have given rise to the a new equation in the the party's internal power struggle. A move that surprised many, senior BJP leader L K Advani on Wednesday came out in support of beleaguered party president Nitin Gadkari, who is been facing charges of corruption .
The BJP president also found support from senior leader Sushma Swaraj. Late on Wednesday the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, after Advani had expressed his support for Gadkari earlier in the day, issued a statement expressing faith in party president. The open support for Gadkari by Swaraj and Advani clearly underlined the changed equations as the duo had stayed away from the public meeting after national executive in Mumbai, where the idea for a second term for Gadkari was first floated. Gadkari, who is a RSS prop in BJP continues to enjoy support from the Sangh pariwar.
However, party sources said, the studied silence maintained by leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on the matter, especially after the fresh charges of corruption was brought by a TV channel, was leading to speculation on whether he would support the party president with the same gusto as he had done when India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal had levelled charges against Gadkari on Oct 17. Jaitley had then said about the charges against Gadkari that 'mountain was sought to be made out of what was not even a molehill.'
Advani's statement comes a day after veteran lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani asked party president to quit the post and not to seek a second term in office in the wake of allegations of corruption against him.'It weakens the party position. In the coming elections we are fighting against corruption and we have to have a man of absolute impeccable integrity,' said Jethmalani on Tuesday.
Though the veteran lawyer is not officially part of BJP, his close relationship with the RSS is well known. The Supreme Court advocate has also been openly canvassing for the past few days to declare Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as party's prime ministerial candidate. Jethmalani is representing former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Modi, in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
In almost a counter to Jethmalani, Advani on Wednesday congratulated Gadkari for seeking an inquiry into his business transactions. Advani said: 'Nitinji has come clean asking for an inquiry by the Department of Company Affairs. It is a fair and proper response. This shows the difference in the BJP's attitude.' Advani further said that the allegations are about standards of business and not of misuse of power or corruption.
Supplementing Advani's statement, Swaraj said, 'In this season of allegations, some allegations have been levelled against our National President as well. It is unjust and unfair to accept these allegations as true without a probe. We the members of BJP trust our President and stand firmly behind him.'
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat refused to comment directly on the matter and said that it was internal issue of BJP. While delivering the annual Dusshera address in Nagpur on Wednesday, Bhagwat chose to criticise Congress for corruption but maintained silence on charges being levelled against Gadkari, who was also present at the function.
The BJP president also found support from senior leader Sushma Swaraj. Late on Wednesday the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, after Advani had expressed his support for Gadkari earlier in the day, issued a statement expressing faith in party president. The open support for Gadkari by Swaraj and Advani clearly underlined the changed equations as the duo had stayed away from the public meeting after national executive in Mumbai, where the idea for a second term for Gadkari was first floated. Gadkari, who is a RSS prop in BJP continues to enjoy support from the Sangh pariwar.
However, party sources said, the studied silence maintained by leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on the matter, especially after the fresh charges of corruption was brought by a TV channel, was leading to speculation on whether he would support the party president with the same gusto as he had done when India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal had levelled charges against Gadkari on Oct 17. Jaitley had then said about the charges against Gadkari that 'mountain was sought to be made out of what was not even a molehill.'
Advani's statement comes a day after veteran lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani asked party president to quit the post and not to seek a second term in office in the wake of allegations of corruption against him.'It weakens the party position. In the coming elections we are fighting against corruption and we have to have a man of absolute impeccable integrity,' said Jethmalani on Tuesday.
Though the veteran lawyer is not officially part of BJP, his close relationship with the RSS is well known. The Supreme Court advocate has also been openly canvassing for the past few days to declare Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as party's prime ministerial candidate. Jethmalani is representing former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Modi, in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
In almost a counter to Jethmalani, Advani on Wednesday congratulated Gadkari for seeking an inquiry into his business transactions. Advani said: 'Nitinji has come clean asking for an inquiry by the Department of Company Affairs. It is a fair and proper response. This shows the difference in the BJP's attitude.' Advani further said that the allegations are about standards of business and not of misuse of power or corruption.
Supplementing Advani's statement, Swaraj said, 'In this season of allegations, some allegations have been levelled against our National President as well. It is unjust and unfair to accept these allegations as true without a probe. We the members of BJP trust our President and stand firmly behind him.'
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat refused to comment directly on the matter and said that it was internal issue of BJP. While delivering the annual Dusshera address in Nagpur on Wednesday, Bhagwat chose to criticise Congress for corruption but maintained silence on charges being levelled against Gadkari, who was also present at the function.
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