Can't blame Modi, Bhagwat for Bihar debacle: Rajnath

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat cannot be blamed for the BJP's defeat in the Bihar assembly elections, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday, dismissing the view that the party had become arrogant.

"The prime minister can't be blamed for the defeat in Bihar. There cannot be arrogance in our party. We can't think of becoming arrogant. The prime minister was trying his best to communicate with the people and there is nothing wrong in it," Rajnath Singh said in an interaction with the media.

"Had it been so (arrogance), we would not have won in other states. We lost the polls and we accept the verdict," he added.

The home minister also dismissed claims that the loss would reflect on Modi's credibility as a leader.

"It is the BJP's and the NDA's electoral loss, not the PM's loss as a leader."

The Grand Alliance of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress won a whopping 178 of the 243 assembly seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies managed to bag just 58.

He also defended Bhagwat's statement on reservation, saying there was "nothing damaging" in it.

"Social equations in Bihar led to the victory of the Grand Alliance. There was nothing damaging in what Bhagwat ji said," he said.

"We got good response from the people during rallies and meetings and there was no sign of the loss, but it was not converted into votes," he said.

The home minister also denied any significance presence of the Islamic State terror outfit in India.

"The presence of the Islamic State group in India is insignificant," he said.

On the issue of intolerance, he said: "The BJP is the most secular party."

On intellectuals returning awards, he said: "We will take all suggestions very seriously. These people returning awards are intellectuals of the country. We will welcome their suggestions."