Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday met senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, in an apparent bid to pacify party veterans who shot off a letter to the current leadership.
In the letter, the party’s veteran leaders attacked the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah following the Bihar debacle.
Jaitley called on Joshi, one of the four senior leaders including LK Advani who had issued a strongly-worded statement on Diwali eve, and spent some time at his residence.
Details of their talks are not known but the Finance Minister, once an Advani protege, is believed to have been tasked with the responsibility of defusing the situation. The meeting came a day after former party president Nitin Gadkari put up a strong defence of Modi and Shah. Gadkari even demanded action against those making “irresponsible” statements.
Gadkari, along with two former presidents, Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu, had issued a statement on the party’s behalf soon after the veterans shot off the letter.
In their letter, the three senior leaders and former presidents insisted that the party practised collective accountability when the party suffered a defeat under the Advani-Vajpayee leadership. Party sources said Rajnath Singh is of the view that since Advani and Joshi have experience and contributed immensely to the growth of the BJP, the party should listen to them. The Home Minister is said to be in favour of examination and analysis of what the veterans have said and that decisions be taken for the overall good.
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