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The Rediff Interview/ Bangaru Laxman

'There is no conflict between the RSS and the BJP'

The new president of the Bhartiya Janata Party, Bangaru Laxman , is now giving the final touches to his team of office bearers who will take over from the present set of officials who have been holding fort for the last two years. An Andhra-based politician, Laxman is the first Dalit president of the party which is known to have been dominated by upper caste politicians all these years.

In an exclusive interview with rediff.com's Onkar Singh, Laxman said that he had no doubt that Muslims would soon see reason and join the BJP en masse. "I have told party workers to visit the Muslims in their mohallas and invite them to join the party," Laxman said. He maintained that most of the political parties are jittery about his appointment as the BJP president. His call to Muslims has exposed the so-called secular parties, he said.

He also maintained that Vajpayee has always been the leader of the party, even when the party was not doing well. "He was our leader when we had just two seats in the party. He was our leader when we had 186 seats in Parliament. He is our leader now. There is no question of showing any disrespect to Advaniji. He is one of senior leaders whose contribution to the rise of the party is significant," said Laxman.

What are the challenges before you as party president?

The first thing is to ensure good performance by the party in the assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Secondly, the undesirable tendencies that are creeping into the party will have to be checked.

There are times when there is conflict between the BJP and the RSS on various issues like opening party memberships to the Muslim community. How do you propose to settle such conflicts?

Firstly, there are no conflicts between the RSS and the BJP. Yes, there are differences of opinion because the two work in different fields. While the BJP works in the political field, the RSS works in the social and cultural fields. Hence it is not necessary that the two parties should have one view on all issues. Our constituencies are totally different. Now coming to the Muslim issue, the fact is that even RSS leaders have supported it.

When you were out of power, was your stand on all issues the same as that of the RSS?

Certainly not. The doors of the RSS are not open to Muslims. It is only open to Hindus. Whereas in the BJP, any Indian can seek admission into the party.

Ever since K S Sudarshan has become the RSS chief, there have been scathing attacks on the performance of the NDA government led by Vajpayee.

Sudarshanji has said in an interview to the BBC that he appreciates the performance of the NDA government. He has not criticised the government on any issue. In fact, he explained the circumstances under which the BJP was functioning at the moment. We are in constant touch with each other.

Before the party president's election the names of Jana Krishnamurthy and other leaders were bandied about. But you emerged victor.

I don't know how information on this debate reached the media. We never discuss our internal matters in public. But then, the BJP is a democratic party and any media person can approach any leader and take his opinion. Perhaps this is how these stories began to appear in the media. Actually, it took just half an hour for our leaders to sit together and decide who will take over the post.

Or perhaps Prime Minister Vajpayee's blessings got you the job?

The prime minister alone cannot decide. Yes, he was present at the meeting just as our former party presidents were also present. They took the decision together.

Has the appointment of a Dalit as party president been made with a long term perspective or in keeping the UP elections in view?

It is not a question of UP elections alone. It is party strategy. It has been done with an eye on the party's requirements. Many other factors were kept in mind. Everything is weighed before a choice is made.

Is the Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati disturbed over your appointment?

It is not just Mayawati who is upset with my appointment as party president. Many of our other adversaries are equally disturbed about this development. The other political parties who have been taking about the cause of the so-called secular forces, everyone was shocked. The people who were dubbing the BJP as the party of the upper castes are shocked.

The BJP claims that over 16 lakh Muslims have already enrolled as primary members of the party. Is that true?

Yes, this is true. But I do not know the exact number of Muslim members. We can tell you that a sizeable number of Muslims are members of our party.

Why was Thackeray taken aback when you gave the call to Muslims to join the BJP?

I don't know why he was upset or why he misunderstood my call. If he goes through the addresses of our past party presidents, he will see that they all mention the problem of Muslims and the need for Muslims to join the party. The only thing is that I elaborated on the issue a little strongly. And ours being the ruling party, my call got a lot of media attention. This might have created some apprehensions in Thackeray's mind.

When you were not in power, the BJP stood for scrapping of Article 370, it stood for Uniform Civil Code and it wanted Ram Mandir to be constructed at the Babri Masjid site. Now the party seems to have forgotten these issues.

It is not a question of forgetting. The BJP has taken up a programme which we have drawn up in consultation with other friendly parties who are our partners. The BJP being a bigger constituent of the alliance, we are faithful to the programme. In the next four years, we would like to implement only those decisions for which the people have given us their mandate.

But if you realise that Ram Mandir issue can bring the BJP back to power, will you revive the issue?

I don't think that possibility exists now. I do not foresee that happening.

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