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RSS says Modi elevation is BJP's call

Last Updated 04 November 2012, 20:02 IST

Parrying queries on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s possible elevation as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha elections, the RSS on Sunday asserted it will take a call on this issue only after the political party (BJP) decided whom it will project as its next leader.

Rounding off a crucial three-day meeting of the RSS national council at Kelambakkam, 40 km from here, Suresh Joshi, the Sangh’s general secretary, told reporters that “it is not the time to say anything” about Narendra Modi as all political decisions were taken by the political party (BJP).

“We (RSS) are not contesting the elections and they (BJP) have not decided yet,” Joshi quipped. He made it clear that noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani had not written any letter to the RSS chief about Narendra Modi being the “ideal choice” for the prime minister’s post, but wrote only to the BJP president.

When pressed whether the RSS national council discussed this issue and what its views on Modi were, Joshi said: “It’s too early to say anything.” The Sangh, apparently, is waiting for the Gujarat Assembly elections to get over. The deliberations were presided by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, with over 400 RSS leaders and office-bearers from across India attending.

However, Joshi was more forthcoming on the allegations of corruption and questionable business practices recently surfacing against BJP leader Nitin Gadkari. “There is no problem with the RSS,” Joshi said, but ruled out an internal, independent enquiry by the Sangh on the allegations faced by Gadkari. “We don’t have any mechanism with us to conduct an enquiry,” he said.

Stating that anybody could take part and contribute to RSS’ activities in diverse fields, whether it was education, social development or tribal uplift, Joshi said the country also needed industrial development. “We want the nation to industrialise, but it has to be within the limits of the Constitution and the law.”

‘Declassify India-China War documents’

The RSS on Sunday demanded the Centre “declassify key documents” about the 1962 India-China war” and called for a comprehensive national security policy vis-à-vis China, reports DHNS from Chennai.

A three-day national council meeting at Kelambakkam adopted a detailed resolution, paying rich tributes to the thousands of Indian soldiers who laid down their lives, and noted that “even after 50 years bodies some of those soldiers are being found on the mountains.”

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(Published 04 November 2012, 15:39 IST)

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