On the common Muslim apprehension that the BJP willfully benefits from Hindu-Muslim polarisation in states even as it talks of an inclusive politics at the Centre, he said: “I can’t say much but incidents happen which may give rise to certain feelings. Godhra in Gujarat gets talked about a lot without realising that Godhra was something so horrendous that a reaction took place. They (reaction) should not have taken place. (Gujarat) Government should have been able to control them. But Godhra was there. And a conscious effort was made by the Central government (of the UPA) to show that Godhra was not there. That Godhra was a hoax.”

On the BJP’s failure to disown Varun Gandhi after his alleged hate speech in Pilibhit, Advani said: “When he came to see me, I told him, ‘whatever you have assured the Supreme Court, stand by it’. Why should we disown a person, a young boy, only because he made a statement which I disapproved (of)? Has anyone ever suggested to so many other parties that they should disown those who have been charged with heinous crimes? They are also included in the Union Government.”

On the generational shift in the RSS, and the Mohan Bhagwat-led organisation having decided to let the BJP take its political decisions, Advani said: “It’s a situation which I have experienced all my life. There was a short phase in between when things were slightly different and made me make some observations in Chennai. That is behind us now”.

... contd.