Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Saturday that BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani had protected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position as Gujarat Chief Minister during the 2002 period. Jairam Ramesh's statement follows the announcement of Advani being conferred with the Bharat Ratna - the country's highest civilian award.
He made the claim before reporters at Mohanpur in Deoghar, Jharkhand, during Rahul Gandhi's “Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.”
"In 2002, Advani ji had saved Narendra Modi. The then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had reminded Modi lesson of 'Raj Dharma' and wanted to remove him from the post of CM. However, only one person saved him and that was Advani (at a BJP meeting) in Goa”, said Jairam Ramesh responding to a question regarding Advani being awarded with Bharat Ratna.
Gujarat witnessed deadly communal riots in 2002 when Modi was the chief minister of the western state. Ramesh claimed Advani also gave a famous statement calling Modi a "brilliant event manager".
"Fast forward to Gandhinagar before the 2014 elections, Advani ji had said that Narendra Modi is not his disciple but a brilliant event manager," Ramesh said.
"When I look at Advani ji and Modi ji, I recall these two things," the senior Congress leader said.
Reacting to Ramesh's remarks, Jharkhand BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, "In the Modi regime, awards are given on the basis of merit. This government is different from that of Congress, which gave awards only to close associates. The Congress leaders are not able to digest the change and are speaking out of frustration."
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