Lalit Modi row: RSS cautions BJP against removing Vasundhara Raje

NEW DELHI: Vasundhara Raje seems to have rode over the Lalit Modi controversy with a message of pragmatism from the RSS. The ideological parent of the BJP is believed to have cautioned the party against removing her as chief minister of Rajasthan as it can destabilise the state government.

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari had played a crucial role in brokering truce between Raje and the BJP, sources in the party revealed. Raje had a good working relationship with Gadkari from his days as party president. His proximity to the RSS brass also helped. That’s why Gadkari’s assertions after meeting Raje in Jaipur on Monday that "the whole party is behind her and she has done nothing illegal" assumed all the more significance. So far the party’s defence of Raje had been muted. Gadkari’s statement was the first clear indication that Raje was safe, as of now.

"All allegations against her are baseless. I have assured her that the government and BJP stand strong with her," Gadkari said. It was only after that Raje made her first official engagement since the controversy broke out last week. She accompanied Gadkari to Jodhpur to lay the foundation stone of Jodhpur-Pokhran stretch of National Highway 114, and also to inaugurate some other road projects in the state.
Sources claimed that Raje was never a favourite with the RSS, whose leaders frowned upon her flamboyant lifestyle, but it decided to back her this time.

"Stability of Rajasthan government is one thing. There is no doubt about Raje’s popularity in the state and any action against her would have thrown the state unit of the party in a disarray. The Sangh was also worried that sacking Raje would open a can of worms, making it even more uncomfortable for the BJP," a senior leader, not wanting to be identified, told ET.

A series of unconstrained tweets by Modi on Sunday evening involving other senior leaders in the government also rattled the party. "It was considered to be prudent to let things be," the leader explained. While party president Amit Shah had refused to meet Raje earlier, she had apparently spoken to him on the phone and clarified her position. "Adhyaksh ji asked her if there were any more incriminating documents or evidence related to Lalit Modi that could come out in the open, embarrassing her and the party further. Raje assured him that there was nothing," another party leader said.

It was only after that Shah briefed the prime minister. There was still no clarity till the RSS was convinced that it was not wise to take action against Raje without any evidence, and based only on perception. Sources said that RSS was also worried that action against Raje could expose Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to similar demands from the Opposition over Vyapam scam.