No threat to Raje govt, says Rajnath

The party chief apprised the leaders of the latest developments in the state, reports Hemendra Singh Bartwal.

Senior Bhartiya Janata Party leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, Jaswant Singh and Rajnath Singh held a late night meeting on Thursday to review the situation in Rajasthan and work out a strategy to resolve the crisis faced by the Vasundhara Raje government.

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The party chief apprised the leaders of the latest developments in the state. The leaders are believed to have discussed the chief minister’s handling of the situation and the options before the party to get out of the deadlock without further damage to its image. They also spoke to Raje on phone during the meeting, sources said.

There were unconfirmed reports that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh top brass was unhappy with her response to the situation and wanted her removed from the chief minister’s post. However, emerging from the two-hour-long meeting at Vajpayee’s residence, Rajnath refused to comment on the issue, saying the chief minister’s removal did not figure during their confabulations.

“We took stock of the situation in Rajasthan after acquiring detailed information about developments there. Talks have been held with the leaders of the Gujjar protestors and we are now awaiting the results,” he said. But he remained silent on whether the upcoming BJP national executive meet scheduled in Jaipur later this month would be shifted elsewhere.

hsbartwal@hindustantimes.com