BJP's prime minister nominee actually took on his own party patriarch by telling a Gwalior rally on Thursday that Atal Bihari Vajpayee never pulled him up for not abiding by rajdharma, rather he praised him. Challenging the world to watch the Youtube footage on Vajpayee's press conference, Modi stoked the Godhra fires and triggered the rajdharma debate.
"Atal Bihari Vajpayee ne hamein rajdharma ka palan karna sikhaya aur hamne kiya. Isi se BJP sarkaron ki vahvahi ho rahi hai" (Vajpayee tutored me in rajdharma and I have adhered to it. This is the reason why BJP governments are being lauded everywhere), Modi said. Vajpayee's remarks in 2002 were extensively reported by the media, including TOI, and Modi's take on it has stirred the hornet's nest. Vajpayee's niece and former BJP Mahila Morcha president, Karuna Shukla, described the incident thus.
"Just to refresh my memory I went through the Youtube clips once again and it is so obvious that what the Gujarat CM got from Vajpayee was a dressing down." A true gentleman, Atalji did not forget to couch the reprimand, but it was no commendation certificate for Modi, she said. In fact, the CM can be clearly seen and heard recommending his case seeking approval and Vajpayee just endorsed it to keep up the appearance.
"Modi is misrepresenting facts," she said. This is yet another Modi distortion, AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh said. "Modi knows an ailing Vajpayee will not nail his lie so he has conjured up another one of the glorious promos to sell himself. His feeble and failed attempts to don a secular avataar for vote bank politics are transparent and not fooling anyone."
Kapil Sibal derided Modi for a lack of credibility. "We have called his bluff so many times and demolished countless such claims made before the public." Senior BJP leaders, when contacted by TOI, skirted comment. "It is too serious a matter. Nobody would like to get his fingers burnt," a senior party leader said.
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