Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Advani likely to step down as leader of Opposition

CNN-IBN
Published on Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 16:44 in Politics section
New Delhi: Sources have told CNN-IBN that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L K Advani, is likely to step down between November 8 and December 25 this year.
It is L K Advani's birthday on November 8, and he will turn 82. December 25 is BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday.
Sources have also said that Advani will have a say in who will be the next BJP President.
Advani worked out his exit plan after meeting RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. He had also consulted former RSS chief K C Sudarshan.
He will now be NDA chairman after stepping down from his current post.
Sources say thatL K Advani is a lonely man today. Colleague after colleague - people who were with him in the Vajpayee government - are now questioning his credibility. While the Kandahar hostage crisis is almost a decade old now, the issues it has raised have been aimed directly at the man who has prided himself on being the BJP's Loh Purush (Iron Man).
Former national security advisor Brajesh Mishra, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and former defence minister George Fernandes have stated categorically that L K Advani was present at the Cabinet Committee on Security meet held on Kandahar.
They say that Advani was in the know of the plan to swap terrorists for hostages on the hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC814.
The Kandahar controversy could not have come at a worse time for Advani. Ever since the 2009 election defeat, there has been a question mark over Advani continuing as the BJP's leader of Opposition.

As Advani is obviously hale and hearty, he should continue as leader of opposition for the 5 year term. Why should anyone in the BJP have a problem with this? There is no parliamentarian today who can match his capacity and experience. He will no doubt continue to spellbind parliament with his charisma and precision of expression. I for one want to see more of Advani and not less. BJP will soon have a new president as per its constitution and they can elect someone as young as it gets. Organizational excellence at all levels is what BJP should aim at. Political dividends will inevitably come its way.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/advani-likely-to-step-down-as-leader-of-opposition/100492-37.html

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