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After Bharatiya Janata Party chief L K Advani, it was the turn of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to refresh the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's take on Partition history and the legacy of Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
In what is being read as an attempt to finally lay the ghost of Jinnah to rest, Vajpayee, at a condolence meeting for RSS leader HV Seshadri said Jinnah's life should not be evaluated looking only at one aspect of his life, and for a significant period of his life, Jinnah had been secular.
Vajpayee was quoting from a book on partition written by the late Seshadri at a function where Sudershan was also present.
"Jinnah's or anyone else's life for that matter cannot be evaluated looking at only one phase of his life, Jinnah had been secular for a long time before he turned communal and led the movement for the partition of India," said Vajpayee.
RSS Sarsanghchalak KS Sudershan also made conciliatory noises towards the top two leaders of the BJP. He said his remarks on television that "logon ko vyakti nisht nahin hona chahiye, balki tatva nisht hona chahiye" (people should be loyal to ideology and not to personal cults) was meant to illustrate the Sangh's tradition of collective decision making and collective responsibility.
These statements taken together, along with the Sangh's support of Advani sacking senior Delhi leader Madan Lal Khurana has given some respite to the fratricidal war that had been going on within the Sangh parivar till now.
Sudershan claimed that he had been misquoted in his now infamous interview given to a television channel where he had reportedly asked Vajpayee and Advani to give way to a younger leadership.
"I was talking of the ideology of the Parivar and the collective decision making that characterises our leadership style," he said.
All eyes are now on the upcoming Chennai national executive and what Advani will choose to unveil as a new party plan following this rapprochement.
