Ashadh Krushna 8, Kaliyug Varsha 5114
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Nagpur (Maharashtra) : Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president Pravin Togadia on Sunday threw a bouncer saying he would want the country’s next prime minister to be like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. "Someone who does not compromise with interests of Hindus for the sake of enjoying power would be the ideal candidate," he explained.
Asked if he knew of any such candidate from the present political leaders, he said tongue-in-cheek: "Well he could be from Maharashtra like Shivaji himself." He refused to elaborate. But his remark could clearly mean that he would prefer (Maharashtra’s) Nitin Gadkari to (Gujarat’s) Narendra Modi. To be fair, Togadia did not mention any names.
Togadia and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi are known to be loggerheads. Among the present detractors of Modi, he is clubbed with controversial Sanjay Joshi and Keshubhai Patel as prominent ones. With Modi seeking a fresh term for his government in Gujarat in state elections this year-end, how these leaders would work against Modi is a matter of intense speculation. Therefore, Togadia’s reference to Maharashtra attains importance in the ongoing debate on who the next PM candidate of the BJP.
Already the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has thrown his weight behind a pro-Hindutva candidate while Bihar CM Nitish Kumar whose JD (U) is a constituent of NDA has threatened to walk out of the NDA if Modi is projected as PM candidate for 2014. While Gadkari is all set to take the BJP national president’s post for a consecutive term from next December, he has said that he is not in race for prime ministership.
Togadia was in the city for a Vidarbha-level meeting of the VHP to chalk out plans for the ‘Sampark abhiyan’ (public contact drive) being planned by the VHP from Janmashtami to Vijayadashami during which 51 lakh families would be contacted all over the country to seek support for two demands VHP wants to pursue. While the first demand is construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya ruling out any new Babri Masjid anywhere, the second demand is for declaring India as a Hindu nation by appropriate amendment to Constitution.
Later talking to reporters, he demanded that the government of India should reject in totality the interlocutors report on J&K. "The report is totally pro-Pakistan as it included views of only separatists and not the Kashmiri Pandits who are equal stakeholders," said Togadia. He also demanded action against two of the interlocutors for having links with Ghulam Nabi Fai, the US-based Kashmir lobbyist found to be an ISI plant.
Source : TOI
