RSS: Hands-off with BJP, but happy to advise

After a day of much anticipation about what sort of line he'd take on the BJP, the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made no big announcements at his press conference on Friday.

Bhagwat said the BJP has to find its own solutions to its infighting, but the RSS will gladly provide any advice, if required. Bhagwat had earlier reportedly said that the RSS would like to see younger leaders heading the BJP. But today, Bhagwat said the BJP has to decide its leadership independently.

One of the reasons that the RSS was expected to take a stronger position is because recent rebels like Arun Shourie have suggested that the RSS play a more active role in the BJP.  Another reason: Bhagwat met BJP president Rajnath Singh on Thursday night.

Experts point out that the RSS rarely makes public suggestions about the BJP. It usually operates behind-the-BJP-scenes. So, while the RSS on record says it's following a hands-off policy, in private, it may be working closely on figuring out when LK Advani should be replaced, and by whom.

Advani has been challenged in the last few days by three insiders accusing him of lying on the Kandahar issue. Advani has said that in 1999, he was not consulted about whether Jaswant Singh should fly to Kandahar to swap 3 terrorists for the 164 passengers who were hijacked on IC814.

However, Jaswant Singh, after being expelled from the party, said Advani was aware of the decision. Singh's claims have been supported by Brajesh Mishra, who was the National Security Advisor at the time. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has also agreed with this view.

The RSS says Kandahar is "a BJP issue".

When Bhagwat was asked about his view on Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi he said: "It's not about adopting them. We respect whoever has done service to the nation. The Sangh considers them as respected figures."

Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Venkiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar have met RSS chief in New Delhi.