RSS, Nitish Kumar and Team Anna attack BJP for inducting tainted leaders like Kushwaha

NEW DELHI: BJP on Thursday came under relentless attack from within its parivaar as well as from ally JD(U) for jettisoning the probity plank to accommodate tainted BSP dropout Babu Singh Kushwaha.

The decision, which has pasted an oversized bull's eye on the BJP's back, saw leaders of the parivar and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar taking direct shots at the party. "BJP should not ignore the issue of accommodating tainted leaders," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said. Nitish Kumar, too, was equally critical of the BJP's political opportunism when he described the decision to induct Kushwaha as "patently wrong".

In an editorial published in RSS' Hindi publication Panchajanya, the Sangh savaged BJP for inducting tainted leaders and political turncoats. It went to the extent of calling on the voters of Uttar Pradesh not to back candidates facing criminal charges and those who switch loyalties on election eve. "The electorate of UP should not vote for criminals and party hoppers," it said.

Kushwaha, a Koeri leader and once a trusted lieutenant of BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, was removed as family welfare minister in April following his alleged involvement in the NRHM scam. He was sacked from BSP in November.

What could be more distressing for BJP is the strong condemnation of Kushwaha's induction by Nitish Kumar. The Bihar chief minister plainly told BJP that there should be no compromise on corruption. "This is not a correct step... it's not a healthy trend," he said and pointed to internal troubles in BJP over the induction of Kushwaha.

Although BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who cleared the induction of Kushwaha, is sticking to the decision, party leaders conceded that the development has dealt a major blow to its campaign against Congress and the Centre.

BJP, it be recalled, was successful in cornering Congress in Parliament over its inability to pass the Lokpal bill in the Rajya Sabha.

BJP's UP leaders are also not making things any easier for the party leadership. The party's Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath said the organisation was on a wrong track and this was manifest in the decision to induct BSP dropouts. The Kushwaha episode has also exposed BJP to attack from Team Anna. "The BJP is no different. There will be no takers for its claim that it has zero tolerance for corruption," said Team Anna.