Gadkari was not keen on party post, says Bhagwat

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari had not been keen on taking over the party’s mantle, and had even contemplated retiring from active politics.

Bhagwat, while making this disclosure here, said the BJP patriarch L K Advani and other senior leaders had then approached him to play a decisive role in appointing a new party chief. “Gadkari was initially reluctant, but eventually gave in to pressure from all top Sangh and BJP leaders,” he said.

Denying that there was any role played by the RSS in the much-hyped ‘Hindu terrorism’, Bhagwat said that five days before Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare died, he had told him that he (Karkare) was under tremendous pressure to implicate Hindu-wing outfits.

Participating in RSS programmes, Bhagwat lashed out at MNS chief Raj Thackeray for his frequent attempt to attack Biharis in Maharashtra. “The RSS has no relationship with persons like Raj Thackeray,” clarified Bhagwat, before winding up his programme.