New Delhi: Senior BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday (Sep 12, 2004) said the party still has an important role to play and "can get more responsibility" in future for which the partymen will have to be ready.

Addressing the concluding session of BJP Chief Ministers' Conference in New Delhi, he said, "We can have more responsibility in the future. We have to be ready for it."

"There is no scope for laxity as the time is less. Situation is changing fast and we must be ready to respond (to it)," he told the six BJP Chief Ministers whose conference was called to discuss ways for improving governance in their States.

"The last election results have not been as per our expectations. But everybody feels that whatever be our numbers, BJP has an important role to play. Keeping this in view and expectation of the time, we have to see how fast we can move and strengthen our organisation further," he said.

The country's internal security faced a threat from within and emphasised that attempts to divide the nation for the second time should be thwarted.

Vajpayee said during the six-year rule of his Government, internal security had been strengthened after "correctly assessing the dangers" to it and hoped such efforts will continue.