No question of removing Modi: Venkaiah

Sandesh Prabhudesai
14 April 2002  

Union rural development minister Venkaiah Naidu today in Goa once again asserted that there is no question of going back on the decision of dissolving Gujarat Assembly and conceding to the demand of removing chief minister Narendra Modi.

In case the NDA ally like TDP withdraws from the government, the senior BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh confirmed that they are also exploring other channels.

"We have other friends who can support us", he said.

Naidu however also said he is fully confident that the TDP will not take a step to withdraw support to the NDA government.

According to him, the perceptions on Gujarat situation are different. "The TDP is looking at it from far, but we look at it from close vicinity", he felt.

He also said that the decision on Gujarat is not taken hurriedly but after discussing the issue threadbare, assessing the situation in Gujarat and also keeping in mind what strategy the Congress will adopt.

"Let the Congress go to the people on this issue and we will show them what is the real situation in Gujarat", said Naidu in an offensive mood.

"If the Congress feels that our hands are bloodstained, I would say that their body and minds are also bloodstained", he commented.

Naidu does not agree that the BJP is going to polls in Gujarat over 800 dead bodies. Reminding such incidents in the past during Congress regime, he asks whether such incidents had not taken place in 1969 or 1984.

"How the so called secular government is still shamelessly ruling in Bihar when there are 10,000 deaths in the last five years", asks the senior BJP leader.

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