National

An Old Swayamsevak's Dilemma

The PM is torn between the RSS and his compulsions of office

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An Old Swayamsevak's Dilemma
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Is Atal Behari Vajpayee a closet RSS supporter? That, at least, is the Opposition allegation. "He represents the covert side of the RSS; he adopts the latent posture of the RSS, leaving the potent agenda to the others," says Congress leader Kamal Nath. In fact, the combined Opposition's current attack on the prime minister is predicated on this view, aimed at driving a wedge between the BJP and its allies in the NDA. And there has been a history of what critics term Vajpayee's "compromises" with the Sangh:

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  • In the '70s, when forced to choose between the Janata regime and his RSS membership, Vajpayee went with the Sangh.
  • Soon after the formation of the BJP in 1980, Vajpayee's 'Gandhian socialism' was dumped under pressure from the RSS.
  • At the BJP's Palampur plenary in 1989, resolutions were passed accepting the Shiv Sena as an ally and the inclusion of the Ram temple in its agenda. Vajpayee went along with both decisions despite having expressed his opposition on both counts. l As the Hindutva agenda of the BJP caught fire through the '80s, Vajpayee, despite his reported differences, came to the defence of the RSS-"if the RSS is fascist, so am I".
  • Post-Babri Masjid, Vajpayee complained that there was "no place for moderates" in the BJP but didn't quit.

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Perhaps the best defence of these "compromises" came from the man himself-"Jaaye to jaaye kahan (If I leave, where will I go?)" he asked, when asked why despite the differences he stayed on. His supporters insist "he could either have run away or stayed on and done what he has-try and change the party". Always keeping in mind that despite his disagreement on issues, insistence on tracing his political roots to the Jana Sangh under Shyama Prasad Mookerjee rather than the RSS and his personal liberal inclinations, Vajpayee's political affiliations have been only with the Jana Sangh-BJP. Which in turn is deeply influenced by the RSS.

Now, the nightmare for the "right man in the wrong party" returns. Sudarshan's agenda means that the pressure on Vajpayee to conform will only grow. But this time around, it is indicated, there will be no abject surrender. As a PMO official told Outlook: "The PM's approach has been to build a consensus; good aspects of the RSS or any other agenda can be accommodated. But in the end, the PM will be guided only by national interest."

BJP general secretary Narendra Modi dismisses any talk of growing tensions. "The RSS stand on issues cannot be seen as a threat to the Vajpayee regime. In a democratic polity, all have a right to express their views." But the Vajpayee camp's calculation is that if the RSS' stress shifts from articulating policy to acting upon it, he'll have to take a stand. And provide him with an opportunity to bury past ghosts.

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