RSS pat for Vajpayee?s bow-out decision

Sudarshan said that it is Indian tradition to hand over reigns to a successor and attain an exalted position.

The RSS, which had favoured younger leadership of the BJP in the wake of former party chief LK Advani's controversial remarks about MA Jinnah, has hailed former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee for his decision to quit politics of power.

HT Image

In a letter written by RSS chief KS Sudarshan, read out by senior RSS functionary Madandas Devi at a function on the outskirts of Mumbai, the Sangh supremo has hailed Vajpayee for his decision to retire from politics of power, among other things.

Vajpayee's announcement to quit active politics at the recent BJP national executive convention in Mumbai is in conformity with classical Indian tradition wherein a person holding power hands over reins to a deserving successor and himself attains a more exalted position, Sudarshan said.

Tracing Vajpayee's career as a parliamentarian, Sudarshan quoted former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who had commented once that Vajpayee was "a man to be watched", and added that 40 years later, the senior BJP leader proved Nehru's prophecy correct when he assumed the same seat which Nehru had once held.