BJP steers clear of Vajpayee's blessings to Advani

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday sought to steer clear of the raging controversy over Prime Minister candidacy in the party with one leader scoffing at the media for "indulging in mere entertainment".

"Don't misinterpret things... it is not serious reporting... it is mere entertainment," BJP national vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters when asked to comment on former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's reported blessings to Lal Kishenchand Advani for the top job.

Vajpayee had, in reply to a question on Saturday evening, said that his blessings were with Advani for the top job. "Poora (Fully)," Vajpayee had said when asked whether his blessings were with Advani.

Another senior BJP leader and former foreign minister Jaswant Singh, however, said he supported what Vajpayee has said. "We all support what Vajpayee has said," he said.

Former BJP president Venkaiah Naidu, however, sought to brush aside the remark saying, "We are not here to discuss the issue of prime minister but to discuss the failures of the centre and the state governments".

"Do you expect me to comment on what Atalji has said?" he asked.

Naidu, however, said that no elections were slated in the near future and therefore it was not an issue for the party at this juncture.