| Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi appears to have survived yet another attempt to remove him. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief L K Advani admonished dissident BJP leaders from the state for “washing dirty linen in public”.
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| During a meeting of the BJP parliamentary party in Delhi, the matter was brought up by several Gujarat MPs opposed to Modi. These included former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, senior leaders Kanshi Ram Rana, Dr Vallabh Bhai Katheria and Haren Pathak.
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| According to sources present at the meeting, the Gujarat group received no encouragement from Advani.
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| The MPs reportedly complained that Modi was dictatorial in his attitude and appeared to be in no hurry to fill Cabinet berths and seats in at least 12 state corporations “out of sheer spite”. Advani heard them out but counseled silence on the issue.
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| “For the first time since the 2004 general elections, the BJP appears to have regained the upper hand on a moral issue and Advaniji felt that the removal of Modi or renewal of calls to remove him would spoil all that,” said a source.
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| At least 62 MLAs have been trying for quite some time to dislodge the Gujarat chief minister who is considered close to the party brass. In fact, Modi’s chair appeared to be in danger last August as well during the BJP national executive meet in Mumbai last year. Then too, it was Advani who diffused the situation.
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| The charges against Modi were the same: dictatorial attitude, not listening to his partymen, and above all, not sharing the spoils of power. The BJP brass, however, feels that after projecting Modi as the face of Hindutva, it would be a loss of face to remove him from his post.
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| For the dissident MPs and MLAs, it has become an almost impossible task to take on Modi, and his image. “What Modi has come to mean in politics has overshadowed his real political face, that is the biggest hurdle,” said a senior leader. |
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