Ahmedabad, 15 April 2014

BJP prime ministerial candidate Shri Narendra Modi solidly backed party leader Murli Manohar Joshi’s recent remarks during TV9 interview today.

Modi in reply to a question said: This is the BJP wave only and it is the result of lakhs of workers of BJP. Modi is just a person selected by BJP. Lakhs of party workers have worked hard. Four five generations have given sacrifice, many have given their life. Modi is just a small part.

In reply to another question Modi said: a son can’t become bigger than his mother. Whatever I am, I am because of the senior leaders of my party. I have learnt sitting next to them, I have walked holding their finger. These are the leaders who have brought the party to this stage.

When asked about Murli Manohar Joshi’s remark that one model doesn’t fit to all states of India, Modi said: Our nation is so big. Even in Gujarat, one model may not work in all districts. The mistake that has been made in this nation is same treatment to all. There has to be separate model for coastal states, Himalayan states, desert states, land locked states, urban India, rural India, flooding areas, scarcity-hit areas etc. What happened so far in Delhi was that the decisions were taken in the Air Conditioned rooms and execution was ordered. It doesn’t work that way.

Modi denied there was any difference among party leaders over content of manifesto. Modi praised Murli Manohar Joshi’s excellent job in making a specific and clear manifesto. When asked why manifesto delayed, Modi said the party leaders were on visit(to various parts of the country) and it was difficult to find a common on which they all could be brought together on one stage in Delhi. The announcement of manifesto was delayed for just two days due to this.

Reference tweets:

@tavleen_singh For clarity: https://t.co/HoEbaZCLlp .What exactly he was asked is edited by channels! Don't judge/react without full tape!

— DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) April 14, 2014