Author: PTI
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: June 21, 2009
http://www.dailypioneer.com/184316/BJP-not-abandoning-Hindutva-Advani.html
Yet to come to grips with the electoral debacle
and the bickering, the BJP on Sunday sent out a strong message that it would
not abandon Hindutva or snap its links with the RSS but party veteran L K
Advani sought an end to the finger-pointing by senior leaders in the media.
The party rejected President Rajnath Singh's
offer owning responsibility for the defeat saying "victory and defeat"
a collective responsibility has been the tradition of BJP.
"Everyone has asked him (Rajnath) to
continue his work. We don't hold any individual accountable. We will all work
together", senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters at the end of
the two-day national executive.
Already smarting under attacks from senior
leaders like Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, the two-day national
executive of the BJP, which concluded today, also witnessed heated exchange
of words between Maneka Gandhi and two Muslim leaders on Varun Gandhi's hate
speeches and Chief Ministers cautioning leaders against ignoring the Muslims.
In the first major speech on the party's performance,
Advani, whose bid for Prime Ministership failed in the elections, said honest
introspection was necessary but open airing of views is wrong.
