I am not quitting, neither is Advani, says Naidu

AHMEDABAD: BJP national president M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday turned down the Opposition Congress party’s demand that Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani should resign following some kar sevak’s statement that they had brought down the BabriMasjid at his instance.
To a direct question whether he would step down as BJP president in view of the controversy over the leadership issue, Naidu said, “Why should I quit just because newspapers have speculated.� He said both the prime minister and the deputy prime minister have given adequate clarifications and there was no need for him to clarify further.
Naidu, who arrived here for the inauguration of a national workshop on Panchayati Raj, said, “There is no question of Advaniji’s resignation just because some people come before the camera and demand his resignation.�
He said it was surprising that no such allegation had come from any quarter in the last 10 years before Liberhan Commission probing the demolition, or no affidavits had been filed so far.
Why has such a demand been raised suddenly? He described the charges made against Advani as absurd and baseless.
The BJP leader said in fact Chhatisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi and Rajasthan home mini s t e r s h o u l d t e n d e r their resignations as they have been named in murder cases.
Referring to Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s allegations that the BJP had failed to give good governance in five years, Naidu asked what she had to say about the 45 years of the nonperformance of the Congress in the country.
He announced that nonperformance of Congress governments would be the BJP’s main plank in the assembly elections in four states in October this year.
The BJP president reiterated that his party was committed to the construction of Ram temple and there would be not backtracking on that promise.
To a question over the proposed Cabinet expansion in Gujarat, Naidu said it was the prerogative of Narendra Modi and he would do it in consultation with state BJP president Rajendrasinh Rana.
When asked about the arrest of Deepak Patel, BJP MP, in connection with the scam in Charotar Nagrik Cooperative Bank, Naidu said the law would take its own course and the party would also take necessary disciplinary action against him once the official report was received from the state unit.