BJP needs to put its own house in order: Sushma

Agencies

New Delhi, 01 October 2011: Amidst the reports of rift within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, on Saturday said that the party needs to put its own house in order first.

 

Veteran BJP leader LK Advani also echoed Sushma Swaraj’s views.

 

Speaking on the second and the last day of BJP’s national executive meet here, Advani termed the United progressive Alliance (UPA) as the most corrupt government after Independence.

 

 

He further called for the mid-term polls. However, Congress refuted Advani by saying that the UPA would complete its five-year mandate.

 

Notably, the BJP’s two-day meet has been overshadowed by the cold war between LK Advani and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

 

Even as the BJP has publicly defended Modi for his absence in the national executive meet, a party source said some senior leaders were not happy with his decision.

 

The source said several senior leaders were unhappy with Modi’s decision which had left the party embarrassed.

 

Party leaders were seen grappling for excuses to explain the leader’s absence on Friday. Senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj and M Venkaiyah Naidu refused to comment while the official explanation later given was that Modi was observing Navratra fast.

 

According to sources, Modi skipped the meet after being upset over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being chosen to flag-off LK Advani’s anti-corruption ’yatra’. The ’yatra’ is the main issue for discussion during this meet.

 

The controversial Gujarat leader was recently pitched as a likely contender for the prime minister’s post by a US Congressional report for the 2014 general elections.

 

The two-day national executive meet started in the national capital on Friday. While Advani’s ’yatra’ remains the main focus, other issues include land-transfer agreement between India and Bangladesh, and upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.