By IANS,
Chennai : The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will comment on the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections only after the latter takes a decision on the issue, a senior RSS leader said Sunday.
Queried by reporters on the Sangh’s stand on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi being the prime ministerial candidate for the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), RSS general secretary Suresh Joshi said: “We are not contesting elections. Political parties have their own way and process of decision-making. If they decide their candidate then we can discuss.”
When asked if the RSS has a view on the candidate, he said it was too early to comment.
Joshi was speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the RSS’s three-day national council meeting.
Asked about allegations against BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Joshi said: “We have asked for impartial inquiry. People and organisations should be subjected to probes and should be punished as per law if found guilty. How can we say he (Gadkari) is wrong on mere allegations? He himself has asked for a probe.”
He said it was not for the RSS to decide on a second term for Gadkari as BJP president as political parties have their own system and the Sangh does not play a role in that.
Joshi said the question of embarrassment for the RSS does not arise over Gadkari as it is not connected with his organisation.
India Against Corruption (IAC) member Arvind Kejriwal had levelled allegations related to land deals and improper business dealings as chairman of the Purti Group in Maharashtra against the BJP chief.
The income tax department and the company affairs ministry have begun separate inquiries into Gadkari’s firm and its financial dealings with 26 investor companies.
On the RSS stand on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), Joshi said the church is involved in the protest against the project.
He said the RSS is pro-development.