New Delhi: The stage is set for a stormy BJP national executive meeting in New Delhi on Saturday with senior leader Arun Shourie joining others in demanding an open discussion on the party's Lok Sabha poll debacle that has turned the party into a badly divided house.
A meeting of the office bearers to finalise the agenda for the national executive on Friday evening witnessed high drama as senior leader Jaswant Singh tried to circulate Shourie's letter but was stopped from doing so by his other senior party colleagues.
Significantly, Shourie's letter was read out by Jaswant Singh who was among the first to go public with his resentment against the party leadership.
Shourie, in his letter to party chief Rajnath Singh, is believed to have asked why the party was shying away from an open assessment of the electoral debacle and demanded transparency in the functioning of the party.
But Rajnath Singh refused to allow the letter to be circulated saying it was not part of the agenda.
Shourie is believed to have raised questions about accountability in the party and the decision-making structure and expressed the view that "conspirators" have taken over the party.
He also wanted circulation of letters written by Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh in the wake of the election defeat for discussion by members of the national executive.
Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha had earlier written letters to Rajnath Singh demanding an open discussion on the party's poll defeat. Sinha had even resigned from all party posts.