Modi rubbishes reports of rift; hails Advani's yatra

Setting at rest speculation over a rift with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said all such reports were "extremely unfortunate and condemnable" and praised his forthcoming yatra against corruption and black money.

"I had the honour of having worked in very close proximity with Hon'ble Shri Advaniji. It is extremely unfortunate and condemnable that some vested interests are spreading rumours about him," Modi said on his blog.

There were reports that Modi was unhappy with Advani's decision to take out a yatra on clean politics and good governance as he felt the veteran leader was throwing his hat in the ring for becoming the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP in the next elections.

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The timing of Modi's blog is interesting as it has come a day before Advani embarks upon his yatra.

Modi was all-praise for Advani on his Monday's blog, saying after the movements led by Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare, this yatra is going to create awareness about corruption.

"Shri Advaiji's Janchetna Yatra holds a very special place in this backdrop, because the purpose of his fight is against corruption, his demand for bringing black money stacked in foreign banks, alongside combining creating mass awareness and mass contact in support of this ongoing agitation," Modi said.

"I am confident that this Janchetna Yatra would discover infinite people's strength to take on issues of corruption and black money," he said.

Modi also mentioned his bete noire, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in this blog posting.

Though he did not praise Kumar, Modi appeared to appreciate that the Janata Dal-United leader and close BJP-ally is going to flag-off Advani's yatra.

"It is in the fitness of things that the yatra is beginning from the birthplace of Jayprakash Narayan on his birthday. Sometimes, some pleasant things too take place. It was Bihar's chief minister who had once prevented Advaniji's yatra. It is from same Bihar that another chief minister is flagging off the yatra. Could there be any happier moment!", Modi said.

The then Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad had arrested Advani in 1990 at Samastipur during latter's Ram Rath Yatra.