LK Advani praises Narendra Modi at BJP conclave

New Delhi, Aug 19: BJP Parliamentary Party Chief L K Advani on Sunday surprised many at a party conclave when he praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, against whom he had taken jibes on Independence Day for criticising the Prime Minister.

Delivering the valedictory address at a meeting of the BJP Election Campaign Committee, state unit presidents and general secretaries here today, the party patriarch praised the Gujarat Chief Minister for underscoring the need to strengthen the party at the booth level.

Advani also praised Modi for an earlier campaign he had launched asking young and first time voters, among others, to register themselves as voters with the Election Commission.

The senior leader said these aspects are very important as the main aim is to bring the voters to the booth and ensure that they cast vote.

Though Advani also praised Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley and BJP President Rajnath Singh, many were pleasantly surprised at his kind words for Modi.

Advani, who had resigned earlier this year in protest against Modi's elevation as Election Campaign Committee Chief, had taken jibes at him for his attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Independence Day just three days ago.

While Modi had made a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, Advani had said Independence Day is not an occasion to criticise anybody. In his address today, Advani said BJP will achieve "record-breaking victory" in the Lok Sabha elections.

He maintained that corruption of the Congress government and BJP's promise of good governance would be the theme of the polls.

PTI