RIFT IN BJP SHOWS UP

Foundation Day is celebrated in Delhi & Ahmedabad

• None of the central leaders except Rajnath Singh attended Modi show

• Rajnath praises Modi as a great leader

• Rajnath and Modi disturbed over 'Yamaraj'remark by Cong.

• Say in 2014 the Yamaraj will annihilate Congress

• Modi slams Rahul for beehive remark; says India is our Mother

• In Delhi, Advani says this is not the BJP he had visualised

• Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel praises Advani, saying he will form govt in 2014

New Delhi: Not missing any opportunity to embarrass the Congress heir-apparent, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, saying that India is not a beehive but a Mother to all Indians. "For you, this country may be a beehive but for us, this country is our Mother." ositioning himself for a Modi versus Rahul contest in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, he recalled Rahul's speech at the CII. "This India is my mother. Its six crore Indians are our brothers and sisters," he remarked. Though a gaffe, for Modi Gujarat is India and India is Gujarat! Giving a clever twist to an analogy of a beehive, used in a business conclave by Rahul Gandhi to explain how the country is buzzing with the energy and aspirations of a billion people, Modi turned it into an emotional issue before a frenzied audience in Ahmedabad. Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's famous phrase of finding divinity in every pebble, Modi went on to add, "Even when you lend your ear to a bone in River Ganga, you will hear the voice of Bharat Mata ki jai."

He said that generally, he does not waste his time on the speech of any politician, but he was pained after hearing it. "Don't insult our motherland. If you don't understand our language, learn it from somebody, but don't destroy our tradition and culture," was the advice given by Modi to Rahul Gandhi. The Gujarat Chief Minister, who addressed the impressive gathering in Ahmedabad to celebrate the 33rd BJP Foundation Day, not only staged a massive show of strength to his opponents in the Congress, but also exhibited his popularity to his party rivals at the Centre. Except for BJP president Rajnath Singh, no Central leader was present at the function, signalling the new political realignment in the party. BJP patriarch L K Advani, who has built the party and is an MP from Gandhinagar, was missing. In fact, the leaders of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, were also conspicuous by their absence. Those present on the dais were only his henchmen that included his right-hand man, Amit Shah, besides Puroshottam Rupala and Smriti Irani. In fact, the poster in the backdrop had neither the images of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee nor L K Advani, the two leaders, who have led the party since its inception in 1980. They were replaced by the images of Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi and Gujarat BJP president R C Faldu. Ironically, the rift among the party leaders came to the fore on the BJP Foundation Day, when two separate functions were organised, one in Delhi, where Advani was the central figure, bemoaning the plight of the party and the other in Ahmedabad, where the grand show was organised by Narendra Modi. BJP president Rajnath Singh was present at both the functions. Advani said, "This is not the BJP that I had visualised." Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel, who praised Advani, saying that the party will form the next government at the Centre under the leadership of Advani, had to retract his statement later. The ganging-up of two big-wigs in the party � Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi � is seen as a ploy to promote the latter as the BJP prime ministerial candidate, despite stiff resistance from others. Interestingly, Rajnath Singh, who flew into Ahmedabad for the celebrations, was all praise for Narendra Modi. He declared him as the "most popular leader" in the party. Referring to Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi's remarks, where he compared Modi to Yamraj, (the God of Death), Rajnath Singh said the BJP would not respond but the people of India would give a befitting reply to the Congress. At the end of the function, all the leaders and the entire audience lit up candles, reminiscent of the Jan Sangh symbol of diya, signalling the driving away of darkness at the Centre. Modi declared by dislodging the Congress, 2014 will be the year of the BJP. Hitting back at the Congress, which compared Narendra Modi to Yamraj, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi countered, saying the Gujarat Chief Minister will prove fatal for the ruling party in the next Lok Sabha polls. "Yes, Narendrabhai is Yamraj, but only for those adopting terrorism, corruption and conspiracies against the nation. The Congress has rightly seen Modi in the form of Yamraj, as he will prove to be so for them in the coming General Election," remarked Naqvi.