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BJP-RSS row over deferred condolence meet for Nanaji Deshmukh

RSS loyalists have expressed anguish for not holding a condolence meet even two weeks after Nanaji Deshmukh’s death.

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Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Mumbai unit’s delay in paying homage to party stalwart late Nanaji Deshmukh has resulted in unrest among those loyal to the party’s parent organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

RSS loyalists have expressed anguish for not holding a condolence meet even two weeks after Deshmukh’s death. Deshmukh passed away at the age of 94 in Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh on February 27 after a prolonged illness.

“Nanaji was born in Maharashtra. He worked hard for the party. The central unit paid homage to Nanaji but the Mumbai unit still hasn’t found time for it. Our leaders are busy attending other functions,” a party official said. “The party has lost interest in maintaining its roots. The leaders who promoted Hindutva are being ignored by the new leadership,” he remarked.

Mumbai BJP president Gopal Shetty admitted that no condolence meet has been held for Deshmukh. “It was not held because we were waiting for Gudi Padwa to pass. We had decided to pay homage to Nanaji and senior RSS functionary Shripati Shastri after the festival,” he said.

Deshmukh was a RSS veteran. He was the founder-member of the Janata Party and later a leader of the BJP. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Balrampur parliamentary constituency in UP, but refused to join the Morarji Desai government despite a special request. Instead, he opted out of active politics after JP came into power  after the emergency.

Deshmukh established Chitrakoot Gramodya Vishwavidyalaya in Chitrakoot, which is the first rural university in the country, and was its first chancellor.

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