145;Rahul146;s case has nothing to do with BJP146;

With details of Rahul Mahajan8217;s lifestyle hitting the headlines, the BJP distanced itself from the whole affair today saying that it was a family tragedy.

With details of Rahul Mahajan8217;s lifestyle hitting the headlines, the BJP distanced itself from the whole affair today saying that it was a family tragedy.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of senior leaders on the office of profit issue at the residence of L K Advani, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said: 8216;8216;It is a family tragedy. Pramodji was a general secretary of the BJP, but the party has nothing to do with it. It can happen in any family.8217;8217;

Sources disclosed that the official party disclaimer about Rahul followed a talk between Advani and BJP president Rajnath Singh over the telephone.

The meeting, according to Swaraj, did not discuss the Rahul case. Responding to subsequent questions from reporters, she said, 8216;8216;Since the BJP does not celebrate the 95 per cent score of a party leader8217;s child, it does not discuss their personal lives either.8217;8217;

The BJP has taken a day to wash its hands off Rahul. The only son of Pramod Mahajan was lobbying with all senior leaders for a post in the BJP.

Guided by Pramod Mahajan8217;s secretary Bibek Moitra, he had visited the venue of the recent national executive meeting in full media glare as a part of a PR exercise to secure a post for himself in the BJP.

Mahajan8217;s ashes immersed in Brahmaputra

Guwahati: The ashes of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan were immersed in the river Brahmaputra amidst chanting of Vedic mantras on Saturday. Senior BJP leaders, MPs and MLAs joined partymen to pay their last respect and immersed the urn containing the ashes of the departed leader at the Sukleswar Bank of the river. The urn was earlier taken to almost all the districts of the state to enable the people to pay their last respect to Mahajan who, prior to his death, had toured extensively during campaign for the Assembly election during February and March and was the party8217;s incharge of Assam. The ashes were immersed by party leaders after Mahajan8217;s son Rahul, who was scheduled to visit the state on Saturday for the ritual, had to cancel his trip after falling ill. 8212; PTI