Patna, Oct 9  With terrorism, drought and the future course of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the agenda, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Friday began a three-day national executive meeting at Bihar's heritage town of Rajgir.

Inaugurated by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and attended by 350 members from all over the country, the meeting is being held near Nalanda, about 100 km from here and known as an ancient seat of learning where Buddha spent many years.

The executive committee had an extensive agenda, said an RSS leader. It would discuss terrorism, Maoist violence, border disputes with Pakistan and China, drought and the 'Gau Gram Yatra', or the campaign to save cows.

The crisis in the BJP, with senior leaders openly voicing their dissent, would also be discussed, he said.

The meeting, being held in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's homeground, has seen a war of words between the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), an ally of the BJP, and the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal.

RJD senior leader Ramkirpal Yadav said the Nitish Kumar government was welcoming RSS leaders in Bihar to create communal trouble.

"When Lalu Prasad's RJD was in power, RSS-VHP leaders like Pravin Togadia and Ashok Singhal were not allowed to step into Bihar... But the Nitish Kumar government is treating them like state guests," he said.

JD-U leaders responded by saying that the RSS was not a banned organisation and therefore free to meet anywhere it liked. (IANS)