Referring to media reports quoting a book by APJ Abdul Kalam, suggesting that Vajpayee was not keen on the former President visiting Gujarat at that time, party spokesperson Manish Tiwari said, "It makes one wonder whether there was any seriousness in the 'Rajdharma' statement (of Vajpayee) or was it only for public consumption."
Vajpayee had asked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to follow the 'Rajdharma' in the aftermath of the post-Godhra flare-up.
The Congress spokesperson pointed out that excerpts from the book has led to an understanding that "at the highest level of the NDA government an attempt was made to prevent the then President from travelling to Gujarat in the wake of Gujarat massacre."
Tiwari was reacting to media reports based on excerpts from Kalam's book "Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges", which also says that the former President was ready to swear in Sonia Gandhi as the Prime Minister after the 2004 polls.
Reacting to this portion of Kalam's book, which suggests that Kalam was willing to allow Sonia Gandhi to take over as Prime Minister despite opposition from certain quarters, including BJP, over her foreign origin status, Tiwari said, "There was certain right-wing conspiracy theories who believe in tilting the windmill and living in their own world of imagination. I hope this will disabuse their mind completely." (MORE)
