It is for BJP to decide on Gadkari's second term: RSS

After distancing itself from the controversy over Nitin Gadkari's business dealings, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday said it was upto Bharatiya Janata Party to decide on his second term as party president.

"It is not an issue of RSS. Political parties have their own system and their core group. We are not playing any role", RSS general secretary Suresh Joshi told reporters at the conclusion of its three-day National Executive Council meeting at Kelambakkam on the outskirts of Chennai.

Joshi's remarks came in response to a question whether RSS would endorse a second term for Gadkari two days after it sought to steer clear of the controversy over business dealings of the BJP chief, saying the law should take its own course and they did not have a soft corner for anybody.

He said the meeting did not discuss anything about Gadkari.

While reiterating the RSS stand against corruption, Joshi, however, said a "thorough probe" was required on the charges against the BJP president but added that the allegations had not been proven.

To a question if RSS would initiate an independent inquiry against Gadkari, who is perceived to have been handpicked by RSS for the party's top post, he said there was no such provision in the organisation.

He evaded a direct reply on RSS choice for BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and said, "It is not our issue."

"If political parties decide, we will think", he said.

To a question on the Cauvery stand off between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, he said the Supreme Court has given a direction to Karnataka "and whatever the higher authorities said, it should be implemented".

He also extended RSS's support to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, whose commissioning has been delayed due to protests by local people over safety concerns, saying it was a project to usher in development. He, however, said there should not be any environmental impact because of the project.

 Earlier, RSS adopted a resolution demanding that India adopt a comprehensive national security policy towards China.