In 2005 immediately after his visit to Pakistan Senior Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader,Lal Krishna Advani’s was on the verge of being sidelined,actually he was pushed to the corner. The reason was his charitable remarks on Jinnah in which he described him a secular leader. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh(RSS),the parent organization of the BJP, reacted very strongly for this remark and almost forced him to withdraw the statement and sideline him in the party. The US Embassy in New Delhi read this development as debilitating blow for the BJP.
According to a cable released by the Wikileaks the embassy sees the tightening grip of the RSS on its political wing as a sign and reason for an increasing decline of the BJP as a national party.
In a cable sent by the U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Robert O. Blake on June 13, 2005 (34527: confidential), noted that Advani had to accept an inner party compromise in which he was given credit for success of the trip and bringing the people of two countries closer that credits him for a successful trip to Pakistan that brought the people of the two countries closer. At the same time Jinnah came in for criticism for leading a communal movement to achieve partition.
When the RSS criticized the senior BJP leader’s statement on Jinnah Advani resigned from the post of the party President. He, however, withdrew it under pressure from the Sangh Parivar,as the RSS and its Hindu affiliates are generally referred to.
Writing on the inner development within the rightist groups the Charge d’Affaires says that “although the BJP leadership patched together a face-saving solution to the crisis, the deep divisions within the BJP and between the BJP and the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) remain. The crisis underlined that there is no second generation BJP leader who can currently bridge the two BJP camps like Advani”.
“The behavior of the second tier of the BJP leadership, such as Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi, which failed to come to his aid when he came under attack from the Sangh Parivar reportedly shocked Advani, as he had selected them personally”,says the cable.
Another cable sent by Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Minister Counselor of Political Affairs on July 7, 2005 (36045: confidential), talks about desperation in the BJP camp as the party had gone into a protracted decline.
This desperation is reflected in the reaction to an attack on the makeshift temple in Ayodhya . Sensing an opportunity the BJP tried to exploit the situation and take political mileage.
“BJP verbal attacks on Pakistan and burning the Pakistani flag will not go down well with Indians bent on normalizing relations with Islamabad. Likewise, the violent acts of BJP goons to enforce the strike will further alienate Indians fed up with political violence”, writes Pyatt.
