MUMBAI, January 25: Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Pramod Mahajan today said former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao has been made a scapegoat by the Congress by holding him responsible for the Babri Masjid demolition.Speaking at Vikramgad in Thane district, where he attended an election meeting organised in support of the party candidate, Chintaman Wange from Dahanu constituency, Mahajan said that Rao alone was not responsible for the demolition, but his entire cabinet was also guilty. He said that if the Congress was hoping to win minority votes by apologising for its mistakes, it should remember that the Muslims do not fall for such stunts.
Replying to a question on the Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's ongoing nationwide tour and if it would have any effect on the chances of the BJP and its allies, Mahajan replied in the negative, adding that the elections are not won on the crowds that attend the meeting. ``If this was the case. Atal Bihari Vajpayee would have become the Prime Minister long
back,'' he said.
When asked about Sonia's tour in Maharashtra, the BJP leader said that even if she tours all over the state, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will win not less than 40 seats in the state, he declared. On the fate of Suresh Kalmadi, who quit the Congress recently, he said the issue will be decided before the withdrawal of nominations. Kalmadi had declared his candidature from Pune and sought support from the Sena even as the BJP's ally in Maharashtra asked him to stand for elections on a Sena ticket. He also replied that the BJP leaders will hold talks with the Sena chief Bal Thackeray and resolve the issue of the views of Sena about Kalmadi.
When asked about a case registered against him at Thane on charges of violating the model code of conduct for polls he said that the authorities were unreasonable in their approach. Moreover, it is the duty of the local organisers to fulfil the requirements and not the leaders who attend the function. Giving drinking water to any locality is not a
violation of poll conduct, he said. He also made it very clear that he had not received any summons or orders in this regard adding, ``This act violates no provision under the poll regulations.''
Mahajan refused to comment on the recent entry of Rajaram Salvi, the former State Unit Chief of Samajwadi Party into the BJP. The party's ally Shiv Sena however had disapproved of the defection. Later he addressed the election meeting for Wange and said that during his tenure of 18 months Wange had taken up several issues of the tribals in the Lok Sabha. Others who addressed the meeting included Rajya Sabha member Ram Kapse.
Thousands of tribals from the nearby village trekked to Vikramgadh to attend the meeting and have a glimpse at the helicopter which had landed for the first time in the history of the village.
A senior leader, on being asked about more defections to the BJP, quipped, ``Roughly five per cent pollution was allowed in BJP and now it is only two per cent. Many more are yet to join the party,
and this is a never ending process.''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
