NEW DELHI, JAN 28: The BJP leadership has taken serious note of Union Minister Madan Lal Khurana's highly publicised action of seeking the party chief's permission to ``atone'' for the attacks on Christians, and plans to issue him a show-cause notice seeking an explanation.The party feels that by seeking to atone for the attacks, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister has virtually conceded the Sangh Parivar's involvement in the violence. On his part, Khurana, now on a holiday in the Andamans, is understood to have already written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee expressing his desire to resign from the Union Cabinet. Vajpayee is likely to take a decision after he receives a formal reply from him on the show-cause notice.Senior BJP leaders feel Khurana's days in the Cabinet are numbered. Being a senior leader, they say, he will not be made to go through the ignominy of disciplinary action, but he is likely to put in his papers on his own.For the party though, Khurana's exit may lead to moreproblems as it will find it difficult to choose between Delhi stalwarts Sushma Swaraj and Sahib Singh Varma as his successor.BJP general secretary Venkaiah Naidu today confirmed that party chief Kushabhau Thakre has received Khurana's letter. Thakre reportedly discussed the matter with the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani last night. While Vajpayee is in favour of accepting his resignation, Thakre wants to seek an explanation first and favours a milder action.Thakre also discussed the issue with Advani separately. Both are learnt to have taken a serious view of Khurana's allegation that the Sangh Parivar was trying to ``destabilise the BJP-led Government by resorting to violence against Christians''.At the BJP's National Executive in Bangalore, Khurana took on the Sangh Parivar for its open criticism of the BJP-led Government's economic policies, especially on the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) and Patents Bills. ``Some of our own people are trying to pull down theGovernment which has been formed after 40 years of hard work,'' Khurana reportedly said before being silenced by Thakre himself.On his return to Delhi, Khurana wrote a letter to the Prime Minister to explain his position vis-a-vis the RSS and its affiliates, but the letter got leaked to the media even before it could reach the PMO.The BJP high command has also taken a serious view of the fact that his letter to Thakre was also leaked to the Press even before it was submitted to the party president. ``This amounts to gross indiscipline and Khurana will have to face the music,'' said a senior party office-bearer.
