BJP maintains Rahul case is family matter

BJP maintained its distance from the Rahul Mahajan episode saying it was a family tragedy.

Notwithstanding the sympathies expressed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP on Monday maintained its distance from the Rahul Mahajan episode saying it was a family tragedy.

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"So far as the party is concerned, I have already stated that it is a tragedy of a family. Those who have personal relations with the family are helping them out at their own level. The party has nothing whatsoever to do with this incident. We have said this not once but ten times," senior party leader Sushma Swaraj told reporters.

Asked about Vajpayee's remarks in Manali on Sunday about the junior Mahajan that "such mistakes happen in young age", Swaraj said, "he has said it in his capacity as a statesman. He is always right."

She said the party's Central Election Committee meeting earlier in the day, chaired by party Chief Rajnath Singh and attended among others by LK Advani, did not discuss Vajpayee's statement on the issue.

Vajpayee had told reporters on Sunday that, "Chances of such mistakes are possible when you fall in bad company and that is what happened to Rahul."

The former Prime Minister's concern was perceived as indicative of a perception within the BJP that the party should not be seen as deserting the family of a deceased leader in times of difficulty.