Nagpur: Offering a clarification on his previous comment regarding the outrage being expressed by the Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) veterans over the Bihar debacle, Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that there was no question of taking 'disciplinary action' against the 'respected' delegation of senior leaders.
"Party elders including Shri LK Advani and Dr MM Joshi are our highly respected leaders and neither I nor any other party functionary has ever shown any disrespect to them and there was absolutely no question of any one suggesting explanation from them and not the least demanding disciplinary action against them," Gadkari said in a statement.
He emphasised that the BJP central leadership is discussing with the veterans the issues raised by them in the wake of party's unsatisfactory performance in the Bihar Assembly elections.
However, he slammed reports indicating that he had suggested BJP president Amit Shah to initiate disciplinary action against the veteran leaders and said the rumour was incorrect and misleading
Earlier, Gadkari had said that he has suggested the BJP chief to take stringent action against leaders who make unwarranted controversial statements while defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah for the Bihar elections fiasco.
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu today in an indirect message to the veterans said that dissent should be expressed within the party and not be made publicly.
"Would have been better if these issues were raised in the party forum rather than in public, but we take it seriously nevertheless. Advani ji has immensely contributed to the growth and expansion of the party and we are taking note on everything," Naidu told the media here.
Lal Krishna Advani and three other BJP veterans had issued a strong statement on the party's defeat in Bihar, demanding a thorough review and criticising its stand on the debacle.
"The results of Bihar election show that no lesson has been learnt from fiasco in Delhi," said the statement signed by Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha.
