A day after he resigned as political secretary to Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani, Sudheendra Kulkarni said that it was wrong to blame him for the controversial speech that Advani gave in Pakistan.
Speaking to rediff.com on Monday over phone, Kulkarni said whatever he did was as per Advani's instructions.
"There is no question of my misleading Advaniji. Whatever I did, I did under instructions from the party president," he said.
Who prepared the draft speech?
"I prepared the draft speech under guidelines. But before the visit to Jinnah's resting place, Advaniji asked me to give the full text of Jinnah's speech just before independence and I carried out his instructions," Kulkarni explained.
Kulkarni said he was unable to figure out who leaked his confidential letter to Advani, where he said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh should realise that the people of India do not want their leaders to be remote-controlled.
"I am not prepared to say anything on this matter any further than what I have put down in my letter. I stand by whatever I have said," he said.
Talking about expanding the vote base of the BJP, Kulkarni said, "The only connotation of the word Bharatiya is that you should include everyone within your political fold and not just one section," he said.
He denied that he has become an untouchable in the BJP because of his views on certain matters. "Leaders of the party continue to talk to me," he said.
Kulkarni was asked to fly down to Delhi for a meeting with Advani on Sunday. He had a three-hour-long meeting with the BJP president before he came out and announced his resignation.
Was the leakage of his letter timed?
"The only thing I can say is that it was leaked, but not by me, and I had sent no copies of it to any other leader," he clarified.