Nothing outstanding about Vajpayee: RSS chief

Nothing outstanding about Vajpayee: RSS chief

There was nothing outstanding about Vajpayee's performance as prime minister and he failed to communicate with his constituency or do anything to help the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Sudarshan said in the weekly Walk The Talk programme of NDTV to be telecast Saturday.

Sudarshan's remarks in the first part of the programme telecast last week -- that the ageing Vajpayee and former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani should make way for younger leaders -- had created an uproar in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was forced to reaffirm its faith in the leadership of the two leaders.

RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said Sudarshan had been "quoted out of context" and that there was no need for a change in the BJP's leadership.

"I have spoken to Sudarshanji and he has clarified the comments he made on a television programme have been misinterpreted. The RSS has always respected the leadership of Advaniji and Atalji," he said.

But Sudarshan's latest remarks could be more damaging.

Attacking Vajpayee, the most saleable face of the BJP, he questioned the former prime minister's performance during the six years that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was in power.

Sudarshan also criticised Vajpayee's foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya for trying to interfere in the BJP's affairs and targeted his former principal secretary Brajesh Mishra for allegedly hobnobbing with the Congress.

When the interviewer remarked he had not mentioned Vajpayee in his list of "best prime ministers", Sudarshan said: "I don't think he did such a good job. When he made a decision, he never took people along with him.

"I told him that since he was getting old, there should always be someone to assist him but I also told him that a family member should not be interfering in the day-to-day running of the government and the party.

"He said that wouldn't be possible," Sudarshan said in response to a question about Vajpayee's foster son-in-law.

Sudarshan accused Mishra of aligning with Congress president Sonia Gandhi while he was "advising our camp".

Senior BJP leaders met at Vajpayee's residence Monday evening to frame a strategy to counter Sudarshan's allegations.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley also read out a statement reaffirming the party's faith in the leadership.