RSS to debate BJP affairs in Sept

Senior Sangh Parivar leaders will hold a "chintan baithak" in the first week of September, just ahead of the Chennai national executive meet of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This could be a significant development with regard to the future of LK Advani continuing as BJP president.

According to sources, the "chintan baithak" will have three issues to deal with, which include the fallout of the Jinnah episode in the Sangh Parivar and the open dissidence in the BJP units in Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

But the most important issue is supposed to be the question of BJP's organisational restructuring in a way so as to clip the post of the BJP president of some of its powers.

"Before the formation of the BJP, in the old Jan Sangh, all office-bearers of the party used to be directly elected.

Now we have a sort of presidential system wherein the president alone is elected and he nominates other office-bearers like vice-presidents and general secretaries," said a source in the party.

The organisational secretary of the BJP, who is an RSS member, also used to function in an autonomous manner. But, under the new constitution of the party, he was asked to report to the BJP president. "There will be a discussion on whether this should continue," said the source.

The meeting will have representatives from the BJP, the RSS and even the VHP.

The significance of the "baithak" has not been lost on anyone, since the decisions it takes will be communicated to the party in Chennai.

"The last crisis over the Jinnah remarks and the talks that senior BJP leaders had with the RSS have led to this meeting, since at that time the RSS had raised several issues regarding the fact that inordinate powers had been concentrated in the hands of the BJP president in terms of appointment of office-bearers," said the source.