A flurry of meetings between BJP and RSS leaders over the last two days reflects a ‘‘deepening crisis’’ in the Parivar, with the RSS making it clear that L K Advani’s ‘‘defiance’’ will not be taken lying down, well-placed sources indicated today.Advani’s ‘‘ideological deviations’’ has now been overshadowed by his act of defiance. His refusal to step down despite an RSS directive to do so has led to the ‘‘complete erosion of trust’’ between the BJP chief and the head of the Parivar, sources said.This has been conveyed to second-rung BJP leaders to impress upon them that the RSS will withdraw its support to the BJP if the party does not ensure a ‘‘course correction’’—a euphemism for the replacement of Advani soon.BJP leaders Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj, Sanjay Joshi and V K Malhotra were among those who called on Suresh Soni at the Jhandewalan headquarters yesterday—Joshi had a follow-up meeting today.While no one is willing to specify a timeframe, the RSS has not accepted the BJP argument that Advani stay on till December or at least till the Bihar elections, sources said. The Sangh elders would like to see him go ‘‘as soon as possible’’, ideally before the BJP national executive that begins in Chennai on July 21, insiders said.The RSS was in a state of shock after Advani refused to heed their signal—delivered by Sangh elders Mohan Bhagwat, Soni and Madan Dass Devi on July 11—and decided to stay on as BJP chief as well as Leader of Opposition.Although BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj claimed that the RSS had not sought Advani’s resignation and only talked of ideological erosion, the RSS refused to corroborate her statement. By refusing to make any comment, the RSS has made it clear that they did want Advani to step down and had expected him to comply with their wishes.The BJP chief’s refusal to do so is being described as the ‘‘gravest crisis’’ the RSS has faced since its inception eight decades ago. Though the organisation had faced government bans and defiance from Jana Sangh leaders such as Murali Chandra Sharma and Balraj Madhok, it had never been ‘‘publicly humiliated’’ by as senior and powerful a swayamsevak as L K Advani, RSS members said.The Sangh feels that if it gives in, or is seen to give in, to Advani at this stage, the whole edifice of the Parivar may come crashing down eventually. The RSS derives its power by exercising ‘‘moral authority’’ over its affiliates and if the topmost man in the BJP seeks to defy it, the Sangh will not be able to discipline ‘‘millions of ordinary swayamsevaks in allied organisations’’ in the future, an insider said.Advani’s remarks on Jinnah had already created deep misgivings in the Parivar. But his decision to take on the RSS—evident, according to them, from his refusal to retract his comments and encouragement to Sudheendra Kulkarni and George Fernandes to make anti-RSS remarks—has converted the misgivings into distrust and anger. It has eroded Advani’s own status within the Parivar with insiders recalling Rajiv Gandhi’s infamous comment about ‘‘limpets’’ (referring to Opposition clinging to their seats) to describe the BJP chief’s refusal to give up either of the two posts he holds.Rather than publicly ask Advani to step down, the RSS is now working on BJP leaders to isolate him within. A number of BJP national executive members may challenge Advani’s formulations in Chennai meet, making his position ‘‘increasingly untenable’’ if he does not step down voluntarily before then, sources indicated.
