According to several senior BJP sources, the Sangh leadership had cautioned former BJP chief Gadkari against his tendency to make remarks that brought him into the limelight, but were used by opponents and others with the party and the government at the Centre. -with was done to cause embarrassment. Federation.
Frustrated by Gadkari’s lack of attention, the RSS suggested, sources told the BJP leadership to take appropriate action, including removing the minister from the parliamentary board, who is known for his proximity to the Sangh.
‘If Gadkari is unable to read the saffron mood, then further action will be taken’
The tough stand helped the BJP leadership, which was already annoyed by Gadkari playing in the gallery, made up its mind to remove him from the party’s top decision-making body.
“Somewhere he became a prisoner of the ‘I-don’t-care-any less’ personality, which he acquired because of his controversial remarks. He cultivated it. As we realize it, he made himself an autonomous entity. Started enjoying posing in a form to which the regular rules don’t apply,” said a source.
TOI tried to take Gadkari’s side, but his office said the minister would not comment on the subject.
Sources said both the BJP and the Sangh leadership are in agreement that no one independent of his stature can be allowed an exception to the rules of organizational conduct.
The ouster from the parliamentary board is seen by many as a drastic step, but sources said the leadership of both the RSS and the BJP felt that more consequences would emerge if the minister misread the mood of the saffron bosses. can.
A senior source, requesting anonymity, said, “It was not only his statements in public that made headlines. He would often get out of line even in private, causing inconvenience to the government and the party.” ”
The claim of the Sangh being on the same page with the BJP leadership as compared to Gadkari is contrary to comments in some circles that the action against him is a sign of tension between the BJP niche and the Nagpur-based RSS leadership.
A senior BJP source said, “On the contrary, it was the RSS which was often more annoyed on this score as Nitinji used to make similar remarks despite being advised not to do so.”
Recently, Gadkari made headlines by saying that he wants to quit politics as it has become “power-centric” and no longer an instrument of public service. As opposition parties rushed to interpret the remarks that suited them, many in the BJP struggled to understand the statement, especially because the Union minister has consistently projected himself as a “practical politician”.
In 2019, soon after losing assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gadkari said, politicians who sell dreams to people but fail to make them a reality are “beaten up”. up” by the public.
The remarks, though seemingly generic in nature, were immediately taken down by the opposition to try to embarrass the BJP and the Modi government at a critical time.
Regarding removal of Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan From the parliamentary board, sources said it has been decided that no chief minister will be made a part of the body. “Now we have so many chief ministers and we cannot differentiate between them,” said a source.
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