Yashwant Sinha says ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted Narendra Modi to resign in 2002’ 

Yashwant Sinha.

Former Bhartiya Janata Party member Yashwant Sinha, on Saturday, has disclosed that after the 2002 post- Godhara riots then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was set to dismiss Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat chief minister at the time, but could not take the decision as the then home minister LK Advani had threatened to resign from the cabinet on this issue.

He said, “After the communal riots in Gujarat, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had decided that then state chief minister Narendra Modi should resign. While going to the national executive committee meeting in Goa in 2002, Atal ji had made up his mind that the Gujarat government would be dismissed if Modi ji refused to resign.”

 Sinha added, “There was a meeting within the party. According to my information, Advani ji had opposed this (dismissing the Modi government) and he told Atal ji that if Modi ji is dismissed then he (Advani) would resign from the government. So, he (Vajpayee) withheld the decision and Modi ji continued.”

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