I have seen only strength and talent in Modi: Rajnath Singh

“The strongest point of Narendra Modi is that he is a political leader of firm conviction and the kind of transparency in governance which he has shown after working as a chief minister for 12 years is worth the praise. Not only that,in terms of development,he has made Gujarat a model state,” said Singh.

Asked about his weak points,Singh said although he is yet to find any,he will try to find one. “I have only seen strength and talent,” he said.

“If there is any weakness..he does not care about his health and works relentlessly for the development of the country and the society. It can either be seen as his weakness or strong point,” Singh added.

Asked about Modi’s “mistakes” on historic and economic facts during his public rallies,Singh said one can see his entire speech and he had not said Takshila was in Patna.

“He had not said that Takshila was in Patna..one can see the entire speech..There are times that during these hectic tours,there might be slip of tongue..we also do it sometimes..”Singh added.

Asked about the Ram temple issue,Rajnath Singh said his party wants Ram mandir to be set up and just like Hindus want to set up temples,similarly people of different religions will want their religious structures to be set up.

“The matter is subjudice and I think we should wait for the court’s verdict..A bench of Allahabad High court has given a judgement in which it says that wherever the idol of Ram Lalla is situated as of now,that is the birth place of Ram and this has been echoed by all the three judges..but it has been appealed in the Supreme court and we should wait it,” Singh said.

“If Muslims performed ‘Namaz’ there (disputed site) and if it is proved,then I will acknowledge that the efforts to construct Ram Mandir which is going on now is wrong,” Singh added.

Asked about the snooping row,Singh said Congress cannot jolt BJP through all these.

“These kind of dirty tricks will be used to malign the name of Narendra Modi. But it will not affect the party’s health in any way. And even after all this,there has not been any effect in the popularity of Modi,” Singh added.

Asked about tiffs between BJP stalwarts Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitely and how difficult it was to strike a balance between the two leaders as BJP president,Singh said both the leaders were “very good friends”.

“Sometimes in forums like the Central Parliamentary Board or any other forum,there is a difference of opinion on any issue and it comes out and the media says there is a confrontation”.

“..but having a difference of opinion is our inherent strength..and whichever party has internal democracy,there will be difference of opinion..We are not a family party..we are a cadre based party,” Singh added.

Asked about who ‘Saheb’ was in Amit Shah’s reported tapped conversation,Rajnath Singh said that “in common parlance,people address others as Saheb. In the same parlance,they also say Sahebzade. I come from a small village and when I was small,he is the son of Sahebzade. I do not think it is a derogatory remark”.

He said if his party comes back to power,it will work to resolve the economic crisis,promote equitable development and income disparity and work towards providing employment.

“Unemployment is a major problem and we will try to resolve it..During six years of Vajpayee rule,6.70 crore jobs were generated while in this government,it has been merely 27 lakhs,” Singh said.

He maintained “internal and external security crisis” is also a challenge and BJP will work on that as well as on the diplomatic front.

“During Vajpayee’s regime,due to his diplomatic skills,China had agreed to surrendered its claim on Sikkim but today such situations is not there,” he added.

He said BJP expect wins in four out of five states,where assembly polls were held recently,and he will not give credit to any one person but to all workers from the booth level to the top leaders except himself.

He said BJP is not opposed to globalisation,liberalisation and modernisation but one should should be cautious and no question mark should raised on the autonomy of India’s economy.