2004 - Indian Social Institute

difference in the scene being, before May 13 (when election results were de clared) the jeers never went
unretaliated by BJP. The refusal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to speak out against VHP's intrusion
in its inter nal affair drowned its per functory description of Vaj payee as the "tallest leader" in the party.
(Times of India 16.6.04)
17 th June
RSS advises BJP: Don’t take hasty action on Gujarat (26)
New Delhi, June 16: The RSS on Wednesday reached out to senior BJP leader and Leader of the
Opposition L.K. Advani to convey its disagreement over the remarks of former Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee attributing the Lok Sabha deba cle to the role of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi during the
2002 riots. The meeting between Mr Madan Dass Devi and Mr Advani, and his proposed meet ing with Mr
Vajpayee once he returns from his Manali vacation on Saturday, assumes signifi cance as the party braces
for a discussion on the reasons for the electoral debacle at the forth coming BJP national executive
meeting in Mumbai on June 23-24. Bharatiya Janata Party presi dent M. Venkaiah Naidu has made it clear
that neither Gujarat nor the issue of change of lead ership in the state is on the agen da of the party
conclave in Mumbai. The issue, however, is bound to figure at the BJP meet ing in Mumbai during the discussion
on the party's poll deba cle. (Asian Age 17.6.04)
Modi : RSS puts a condition (26)
NEW DELHI, JUNE 16. Moves in the Bharatiya Janata Party for the ouster of the Gujarat Chief Minister,
Narendra Modi, gathered momentum today after the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) virtually gave
a no-objection signal, although, with one condition — that his exit should not be linked to the riots in
Gujarat two years ago and the party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.
This morning the joint general secretary of the RSS in-charge of the BJP affairs, Madan Das Devi, met the
Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, for nearly about an hour. Mr. Devi is believed to have conveyed to
Mr. Advani that the RSS would have no problem with a change in the chief ministership in Gujarat. Later,
the RSS spokesperson, Ram Madhav, told The Hindu that Mr. Devi conveyed to Mr. Advani that "on the
issue of a leadership change in Gujarat the RSS has no role to play and it was for the BJP to take a
decision." However, "our limited observation was that we do not think that the Gujarat riots should be
blamed for the party's defeat (in the Lok Sabha elections) ... the two things, leadership change and the
defeat in the Lok Sabha, should not be taken together." This development follows the statement by the
former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, list ing the Gujarat riots as one of the main reasons for the
party's electoral rout, and that Mr. Modi's ouster would be discussed at the party's national executive
committee meeting in Mumbai. (Hindu 17.6.04)
VHP activists ransack theatre screening 'Girlfriend' (26)
AHMEDABAD, JUNE 16. Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists today ransacked a theatre in Surat showing the
controversial film 'Girlfriend. About 100 VHP activists attacked Alankar Talkies on Station Road and
damaged the posters and other property of the theatre and demanded that the screening of the film be
suspended immediately. Nobody was injured. The owner of the theatre
obliged and refunded the tickets sold. In anticipation of disturbances in the wake of the attacks on the
cinema theatres in Vadodara, Surat and other cities in the country, the managements of all the multiplexes
in Ahmedabad showing 'Girlfriend' have voluntarily suspended screening of the film today. It was not clear
how long the suspension will remain in force. (Hindu 17.6.04)
22 nd June
Vajpayee, not Modi, is in eye of storm: RSS (26)
New Delhi, June 21: The RSS has once again openly come out in support of Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi. While the outfit's spokesman Ram Madhav claimed that any message that incidents in
Gujarat had an impact on the poll outcome "will send a very wrong signal about the entire Hindu
movement in the ffrit irftne country," "in Mumbai BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Modi
issue was "not on the agenda of the national executive." The RSS organs Organiser and Panchajanya,
which backed Mr Modi to the hilt, also took potshots at former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. In an
article in Organiser, Mr Vajpayee has been described as being in the "eye of the storm," and not Mr Modi.
"The one in the eye of the storm is Mr Vajpayee, for his observations... His statement sent shock waves in
the Parivar..." (Asian Age 22.6.04)