In the midst of growing dissent in the party by seniors, Union Urban Development Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday said that dissent should be expressed within the party and not be made publicly.
Speaking to the media, Naidu said, “Would have been better if these issues were raised in the party forum rather than in public, but we take it seriously nevertheless. Advani ji has immensely contributed to the growth and expansion of the party and we are taking note on everything. I don’t discuss intra-party matters in media as I have been the president of the party before.”
“Party is taking note on what is being said by whom. They have not come out against Narendra Modi, they have just made a comment on our strategy about Bihar. The section of media has highlighted it as a headline,” he added.
Earlier on November 10, senior BJP leaders like party patriarch LK Advani, Murli Manohar, Shanta Kumar, and Yashwant Sinha had issued a scathing statement, seeking a thorough review of the BJP’s rout in the Bihar Assembly polls. In the statement, the leaders said that the party had not learned lessons from the debacle it faced in Delhi polls.
Earlier, Union Minister and senior party leader Nitin Gadkari had spoken out against the statement, saying that the defeat was collective, and that it would not be proper to blame PM Narendra Modi or party chief Amit Shah for the results. Gadkari had also said that the party faced electoral losses, even with Advani at the helm.
While in their general response, the party’s top brass had answered diplomatically, in their individual responses, Gadkari,and now Naidu have talked tough, making it clear that the dissent needs to be within limits, so that it does not harm the party in the long run.