Friday, May 27 2005 17:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhuntar (Kullu): Firmly backing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (May 27, 2005) gave a veiled warning to the Centre against any move to dislodge his Government, saying public opinion was with him.

"Those who had failed to defeat Modi through democratic means were trying tactics like appointing a committee to prove the State Government's role in the post-Godhra riots," Vajpayee told reporters on arrival in Bhuntar near Kullu for his annual sojourn.

He said those who were trying to dislodge Modi "through undemocratic means" should know that public opinion was with him.

Vajpayee's remarks assumes significance in the wake of the Centre appointing a group of Ministers to look into the charges levelled by senior Gujarat police official R Sreekumar against Modi with regard to handling of post-Godhra riots.

During his sojourn in Manali last year (2004), Vajpayee created a flutter within Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) circles by attributing the defeat of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections to some extent to the continuation of Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister.

A statement by the then party Chief M Venkaiah Naidu that BJP had won the Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after the Gujarat riots further added fuel to the controversy which died down soon with Vajpayee retracting his statement and the party standing like a rock behind Modi.

The former Prime Minister also criticised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government for dissolving the Bihar assembly, saying it had thwarted the possibility of formation of popular Government in the state.