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The Rediff Interview/K N Govindacharya

'I will remain in the BJP'

K N Govindacharya, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak who was deputed to the Bharatiya Janata Party to help it build its image amongst the electorate, is an unhappy man today. But he is not alone.

The list of party leaders sulking in private is a long one. Sikandar Bakht, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, Sushma Swaraj and Uma Bharti are also unhappy with the BJP brass for ignoring them despite their contribution to the party.

There are rumours that BJP general secretary Govindacharya who until recently called the shots is being sidelined under the new dispensation. New BJP president Bangaru Laxman, it is said, may not include him in the list of party officials to be announced shortly.

"Why should I be unhappy with the party? I had told then party president Kushabhau Thakre that I want to go on study leave," Govindacharya claimed. Laxman too denied that Govindacharya was being sidelined. "He might not figure in the list of party officials, but that is because he does not want to shoulder responsibility. He will certainly be there in the national executive," he told rediff.com

In an exclusive interview with Onkar Singh, Govindacharya said the decision to go on study leave for two years was his own and had nothing to do with the new regime in the BJP. Excerpts:

Is it true you are being sidelined by the new party president at the instance of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee?

I don't think this is true. Why should the prime minister bother about little things like who is a party officer-bearer and who is not? He has far too many things on his mind. He has to run the administration of the country. He should be rightly concentrating on meeting Clinton, even though yes, there are times when he looks into party affairs too.

If the prime minister is not unhappy with you, why is there a move to drop you as party general secretary?

I have been telling the media I had made up my mind to take a break from active politics. I had taken this decision some time in March and I conveyed the same to then party president Thakreji in a letter. I said the same thing to the new party president soon after he took over.

I have been wanting to do some study for some time now. If I had continued to shoulder responsibility as a party office-bearer, I would not have been able to do justice to the responsibilities that come along with the post.

What do you plan to do now?

I plan to go back to the Centre for Policy Research in Chennai where I am one of the trustees along with S Gurumurthy and others.

Did you tell Mr L K Advani about your decision? What did he have to say?

I told Advaniji about my intention to go on study leave. He agreed with me.

If this is your personal decision, why did you meet RSS chief K S Sudershan? Did you meet him to seek his support?

That is not true. When the party convention was held in Nagpur, Sudershanji was not in India. He came back only on August 31. Since I had time, I went to meet him after the party convention. We talked about issues relating to the party and to the RSS. There was no need for Sudershanji to tell me anything because he has faith in me. He knows that whatever I do, it will be in the national interest. This is not a school where a child has to be guided by holding his hand.

Why is there so much disenchantment amongst party leaders like you, Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti and Madan Lal Khurana?

As far as Uma Bharti and Sushma Swaraj are concerned, they alone can answer these questions. I cannot speak for them. I can tell you categorically that I am not unhappy with the party. I can predict that in the coming years, the BJP will be way ahead of other parties. No party will be able to match its performance.

Are you unhappy with the party's economic policies?

If this were true, I would not have proposed the economic resolution at the Nagpur convention. I was the one who piloted it. There are a number of paragraphs in the resolution which praise government policies on various economic matters. This is my thinking. Hence, all these are baseless allegations.

Some party leaders allege that you are being removed because of the BJP's poor show in Uttar Pradesh where an assembly election is due in the next six to eight months.

I believe that whether a party wins or loses the polls, it is the joint responsibility of every member. No individual can be held responsible for debacles in particular. If there were shortcomings in the way I handled situations, then the party leaders could have pointed out the same to me. I would have rectified matters.

If the party asks you to campaign for the BJP in the assembly election, will you do it?

I am not a leader who addresses public meetings. I am supposed to give my suggestions on various issues. We have a long list of speakers. Yes, if in some remote corner of India there is no one who can speak for the party, then, of course, I am there to do it.

Don't you think your removal from the party scene would be a loss to the BJP?

I don't think so. Kya farak padta hai? Kharbuja churi par gire ya churi kharbuje pe? In the end, whatever I do will be in the interests of the party. If I study some issues, the party is eventually going to benefit from it.

Are you planning to return to the RSS?

No, I am going to remain in the BJP.

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