Bharatiya Janata Party veteran LK Advani on Friday asked his party leadership to exercise caution while inducting controversial people into the party or NDA and build consensus before taking a decision to avoid differences.
Advani’s message to party president Rajnath Singh comes a day after senior leader Sushma Swaraj aired on Twitter her opposition to the return of tainted leader B Sriramulu in the Karnataka unit. She also opposed controversial Congress MLA Venod Sharma’s joining the Haryana Janhit Congress of Kuldeep Bishnoi, an ally of the NDA.
Singh had called on Advani on Friday to discuss Swaraj’s objection and some other issues. Swaraj and former BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu were also present at the meeting.
“Singh said no final decision has yet been taken on Sriramulu and Sharma’s joining the HJC has also been put on hold. Advani told him to consult all leaders…and said the BJP should be careful about the image of people it wants to take into the party or NDA,” BJP sources said.
Swaraj had on Thursday sent out tweets expressing her objection to Sharma joining the HJC and Sriramulu-headed BSR Congress’ merger with the BJP. “I am strongly opposed to this (Sharma joining HJC). I have conveyed my views to Shri Kuldeep Bishnoi,” she wrote in one of her tweets. “I have conveyed to Shri Rajnath Singhji in writing that the BJP must not permit this,” she wrote on Twitter.
{{/usCountry}}Swaraj had on Thursday sent out tweets expressing her objection to Sharma joining the HJC and Sriramulu-headed BSR Congress’ merger with the BJP. “I am strongly opposed to this (Sharma joining HJC). I have conveyed my views to Shri Kuldeep Bishnoi,” she wrote in one of her tweets. “I have conveyed to Shri Rajnath Singhji in writing that the BJP must not permit this,” she wrote on Twitter.
{{/usCountry}}Sources claimed Rajnath had a brief discussion with Advani over reports in a section of the press that the veteran was upset with the ‘one-man show’ in the BJP. Singh and other leaders have since refuted the reports.