Narendra Modi saddles up for key role at Centre

It only helped his image make-over when Vishwa Hindu Parishad general secretary Ashok Singhal compared him with Mahmud Ghazni over the temple demolition move.

Add to that the huge participation of Muslim countries at the last Vibrant Gujarat meet, which surprised much of the western world which still treats Modi as a pariah.

The party has given Modi charge of the BJP's election campaign in the entire western region, covering Maharashtra, Goa and the Union Territories. This means Modi will effectively have control of 78 constituencies, including seats which ally Shiv Sena will contest.

Party sources say state units from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and others are also desperately seeking election rallies by Modi who is expected to be a bigger crowd-puller than Advani who, in a recent interview, admitted that Modi was perhaps more popular than him.

"This is BJP's time-tested formula of presenting a moderate and hardline face simultaneously. Modi is seeking the same role which Advani used to earlier play for Vajpayee as the star campaigner," said a senior BJP leader.

Govindacharya, the former BJP leader who was thrown out by the party some years back for calling Atal Bihari Vajpayee "the BJP's secular mask", says: "His (Narendra Modi's) time will come. It is just a matter of time."

Well, everyone knows by now the role of the mask in Narendra Modi's political career.

Narendra Modi saddles up for key role at Centre

It only helped his image make-over when Vishwa Hindu Parishad general secretary Ashok Singhal compared him with Mahmud Ghazni over the temple demolition move.

Add to that the huge participation of Muslim countries at the last Vibrant Gujarat meet, which surprised much of the western world which still treats Modi as a pariah.

The party has given Modi charge of the BJP's election campaign in the entire western region, covering Maharashtra, Goa and the Union Territories. This means Modi will effectively have control of 78 constituencies, including seats which ally Shiv Sena will contest.

Party sources say state units from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and others are also desperately seeking election rallies by Modi who is expected to be a bigger crowd-puller than Advani who, in a recent interview, admitted that Modi was perhaps more popular than him.

"This is BJP's time-tested formula of presenting a moderate and hardline face simultaneously. Modi is seeking the same role which Advani used to earlier play for Vajpayee as the star campaigner," said a senior BJP leader.

Govindacharya, the former BJP leader who was thrown out by the party some years back for calling Atal Bihari Vajpayee "the BJP's secular mask", says: "His (Narendra Modi's) time will come. It is just a matter of time."

Well, everyone knows by now the role of the mask in Narendra Modi's political career.

Lashkar planned to kill Narendra Modi: Wikileaks

Lashkar planned to kill Narendra Modi: Wikileaks

NEW DELHI: Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba had made elaborate plans in June last year to assassinate Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi , according to one of the American diplomatic cables made public by whistleblower website WikiLeaks . The cable identifies a Pakistani Lashkar member, Shafiq, as the mastermind of the plot that was to be executed by a module led by an Indian Lashkar operative, Hussein. The hit job was to be carried out by one...

Modi-fied questions

Modi-fied questions

AHMEDABAD: The exam paper of Gujarati subject of SSC students seemed to push forward the agenda of chief minister Narendra Modi . Of part-B of the question paper which has a weightage of 50 marks, 20% of the questions were devoted to schemes aggressively promoted by the CM and are close to his heart. Section C of the Gujarati (higher level) had these two questions: "Write a letter to your friend describing activities held in your school as part of 'Vaanche Gujarat' campaign".

Modi's visa woes begun with China

GANDHINAGAR: Even as Narendra Modi flies off to London after being rejected a visa by Uncle Sam, mystery surrounds his visit to China that never took place. The tour, planned in December last year, was cancelled at the last minute. At that time, Modi men proffered some garbled explanations for why this happened.

Instead of the land of dragons, Modi journeyed to the easy-to-enter Singapore and Hong Kong on the scheduled dates. A little later he went to Australia.

Narendra Modi As Next Prime Minister Candidate from BJP?

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After embarrassing performance in elections of parliament, BJP realized that there is need of a leader who can give clear view of Party. This is almost confirmed that Narendra Modi will leave Gujarat’s Chief Minister Post and he will be the President of BJP after Rajnath Singh.

Modi ignored Jafri’s plea for help: Rupa Mody

Modi ignored Jafri’s plea for help: Rupa Mody

Chief Minister Narendra Modi had not responded to the pleas for help from Congress MP Ehsan Jafri before the massacre began at Gulberg Society in 2002, Rupa Mody, who lost her son in the killings, told the specially designated trial court in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Her deposition tallies with the one given before the court by another eyewitness to the massacre, Imtiaz Pathan. Rupa had lost her eight-year-old son Azhar in the Gulberg Society massacre and her story had later inspired the Hindi movie, Parzania. The movie was not screened in Gujarat following widespread opposition by the saffron brigade in the state.

Rupa told the court that on February 28, 2002 when Gulberg Society residents were attacked by a communal mob, Jafri had told her about his telephonic conversation with Narendra Modi requesting him for protection. Jafri had also told Rupa that he did not get appropriate answer from the CM, she stated in the court.

Rupa identified some of the accused in the case allegedly involved in the carnage and instigating the mob.

She further told the court that 2-3 months after the incident, the then police inspector of Meghaninagar police station, KG Erda, also one of the accused in the case, had made her sign an affidavit in his favour in connivance with two other accused, Dr Atul Vaidhya and Bharat Teli.

She said the three had assured her that they will help her in finding out her missing son. According to Rupa, she also had a telephonic conversation with the then Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad City, P C Pande and that she had requested him to provide police protection. She said the Commissioner had even asked her about the number of the people stranded in the society but no help was sent. Rupa said the attack actually intensified immediately after her conversation with Pande.

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