The Hindu : Gujarat BJP plans rath yatra

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 19, 2002

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Gujarat BJP plans rath yatra

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD June 18. The Gujarat unit of the BJP has hit upon a new idea to refurbish its own image and that of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, on the eve of the elections to the State Assembly.

The party has asked Mr. Modi to spare three days every week to lead a `rath yatra' all over the State to spread the message of "peace and amity'' among the people. The "Gujarat Gaurav Rathyatra'' will also be joined by the party's State president, Rajendrasinh Rana, and the local party leaders concerned.

The decision to field Mr. Modi apparently to cash in on the communal sentiments was taken at a meeting of the senior party leaders held on Monday night, the party's national vice-president and in-charge of Gujarat affairs, Ramdas Aggarwal, said here today. Among those present at the meeting was the former Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel.

Insisting that Mr. Modi would lead the BJP in the coming elections, Mr. Aggarwal said the need of the hour was to restore peace, harmony and amity among the people in the face of "concerted efforts by the Congress to fish in the troubled waters for political advantage by fanning communalism by siding with a particular community".

As a border State it was also the responsibility of the people of Gujarat to ensure that Pakistan and its ISI agency did not take advantage of the riots to make the State the hot-bed of terrorist activities. During the rath yatra, Mr. Modi would try to educate the people on the real situation and the performance of his Government in the development and progress of the State.

A fortnight-long programme from June 23, death anniversary of Syamaprasad Mukherjee, and July 6, his birth anniversary, had also been drawn by the party to spread the same message. Claiming that a very distorted image about Gujarat had been spread in connection with the communal disturbances, Mr. Aggarwal said various central leaders would also tour different States to present the "reality'' about the State among the people in other parts of the country.

Claiming that selection of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the NDA candidate for the President's post demonstrate that the BJP did not discriminate against the minorities, Mr. Aggarwal alleged that it was the "faulty and aimless'' Congress policies that had cost the State dearly. Virtually supporting Mr. Modi's earlier controversial observation that the Gujarat disturbances would continue so long as the budget session of Parliament was on, Mr. Aggarwal said the Congress "held Parliament to ransom for nearly a fortnight and did not allow the restoration of normality.

"You can see that the moment Parliament completed the debate on Gujarat, violence started receding in the State,'' he claimed.

About the elections in the State, Mr. Aggarwal said he personally favoured elections in September or October, but a final decision had been left to Mr. Modi . He insisted that there was no question of change of the State leadership now or just before the elections. "This is the overwhelming opinion of the party.''

He admitted that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had the privilege to change the Chief Minister but he would not do so "if he consulted the party as is his normal practice,'' Mr. Aggarwal said.

Denying that there were any differences in the party or in the Modi Cabinet both on the leadership issue and the reported move by the Chief Minister to take back into the party fold some former members who had quit the BJP with the rebel leader, Shankarsinh Waghela, Mr. Aggarwal said a committee of senior leaders would soon be formed to take decisions on such admissions.

Mr. Rana had also been empowered to take disciplinary actions in case of any indiscipline in the party on the eve of the elections, he said.

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