Khurana's no to rejoining BJP; to launch outfit soon

New Delhi, Jun 12: Blaming ''new-age leaders'', who sat in air-conditioned rooms and ran the BJP like a private limited company, for the party's downfall, former BJP stalwart Madan Lal Khurana today said he would never rejoin the party under the present dispensation.

Talking to mediapersons here, the former Delhi chief minister said formalities for the launch of his 'Delhi Vikas Mahasangh' were being finalised and a formal announcement would be made by the month-end.

''In the beginning, it would be a non-political organisation but two months before the Assembly elections, it will be converted into a political entity.'' Former minister Rajendra Gupta would be its chairman and legislator Dayanand Chandela its secretary general, he said, adding that ''area and district-level appointments were being made and by mid next month, everything would be finalised.'' Blaming former BJP chief L K Advani, ''around whom the younger lot hovered'', for the ills plaguing the party, Mr Khurana said until 1998, the BJP was run like a family but later under his leadership it was managed like a private limited company.

''Mr Advani, who dreams of becoming the Prime Minister, is living in a fool's paradise.'' Dismissing claims by a section that his ''venom-spitting'' was an act of frustration after being denied a Rajya Sabha seat, Mr Khurana said he was not hankering after posts and his leaving the Governor's post to serve Delhi was testimony to this.

''It pains me because I have served the Sangh and the party for more than 60 years and today when I see it in its present state, where grassroot-level workers and leaders with a base are being sidelined, I feel cheated.'' Stressing that he still stood by the Sangh ideology and the tenets on which the party was formed, Mr Khurana said he would never join the BJP ''under the present leadership''.

''I will expose all of them who have brought the party to the present state of affairs -- the likes of (late) Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh, Venkaiah Naidu -- who minted money when in power, sat in AC rooms and talked loose about sex and immoral issues.'' The party today has no direction and was being steered into different ways by various sections with vested interests and those who toiled for the party were not being heeded.

''While Atalji talks of Khurana and Uma returning to the partyfold, party president Rajnath Singh says parting of ways by some would not matter.'' ''Even suggestions and the line shown by Atalji, who is a father figure, are being ignored and contradicted as the Rahul Mahajan case shows,'' he added.

UNI