BJP has defended its leadership from attack by party veterans over the party's defeat in Bihar assembly elections. In a statement last night, party said, the healthy precedent of collective responsibility for poll victories and defeats was set by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani himself. <br/><br/>The statement issued by three Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari, all former BJP Presidents, said that it will certainly welcome any guidance and suggestion from senior leaders. The party's statement came shortly after Mr Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar issued a joint statement saying Bihar results show that no lesson has been learnt from the fiasco in Delhi Assembly elections. <br/><br/>The BJP veterans said the principal reason for the defeat in Bihar is the way the party has been emasculated in the last one year. They also targeted party leadership for saying that everyone is responsible for party's defeat. <br/><br/>Former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya sought to dissociate himself from the criticism by BJP elders and said they should have discussed the matter internally.<br/><br/>