It was the turn of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today to respond to his twin foils Narendra Modi and Pravin Togadia. And, he did so in full measure in his valedictory address at the BJP national executive here sending a clear signal to those in the party who are keen to push hardline Hindutva. In a subtle attack on Modi, Vajpayee said the BJP would have to swallow the poison generated in Gujarat like Neelkanth Mahadev did. As for Togadia’s remarks that India be declared a Hindu Rashtra in two years, the Prime Minister said that Hindutva could not be an electoral issue. And debunked the avowed goal of ‘‘some’’ to make India ‘‘a Hindu rashtra within two years’’ and sought to know of them if it had not been one for thousands of years. Vajpayee was not alone in checkmating Modi. His deputy, L K Advani, too, joined hands with him. The two top BJP leaders are obviously wary of the Modi-brand of politics, which would be impossible for them to reconcile with the current phase of coalition at home and the sensibilities of a watchful international community abroad. In a brief speech, Advani gave the credit for the Gujarat victory to the ‘‘performance’’ of the BJP governments led by Keshubhai Patel and Modi and observed that ‘‘even if there had been no Godhra, Narendra Modi’s Government would have secured a renewed mandate because of these achievements.’’ Advani, therefore, tried to distance his party from Modi’s rhetoric over Godhra and Mian Musharraf. Incidentally, Modi was not at hand to hear Vajpayee and Advani. He had left for Ahmedabad this morning after attending the afternoon session of the executive yesterday. In a virtual repeat of what he said during his election rally in Gujarat, the Prime Minister compared the Gujarat elections with the mythical churning of the sea (sagar-manthan), which threw up poison, nectar and various goodies. Since there were no takers for poison, it was left to Shiva to swallow it and survive. The polls, he said, had led to a lot of bitterness, which had to be swallowed. And he claimed that the ‘‘BJP can do so, given its resilience.’’ The post-Akshardham situation had demonstrated that ‘‘this should be the spirit,’’ he said, his allusion obviously to the post-Godhra violence in contrast. Vajpayee, in apparent reference to Hindutva, said all elections could not be fought on one issue. Situations varied from state to state. The BJP has the responsibility to protect national unity, strengthen national security and ensure progress. ‘‘This is not a game of winning a few more seats or winning elections in this or that state. The party must be guided by the lofty goal for which we plunged in to electoral politics.’’ The party, he emphasised, should endeavour ‘‘to carry all sections of our diverse society with us.’’ He called for vigilance against the country’s enemiies abroad, who were trying to divide the society on religious lines and ‘‘make brother fight brother.’’
