No gag order from Rajnath on PM candidate issue: Joshi

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Tuesday defended party president Rajnath Singh's directive to party members not to speak on the prime ministerial candidate issue and said till now no demand for choosing Narendra Modi for the post has come up before BJP Parliamentary Board.

"He (Singh) has not stopped members from freedom of expression. He has only said they should not speak out on issues on which no opinion has been formed by the party yet. This is discipline of the party and if you are a member, you are bound by the rules," Joshi said.

He was replying to a question from reporters on whether Singh has issued a gag order on the issue.

Joshi denied that Singh's directive has been flouted. Former Bihar unit chief C P Thakur had spoken out in support of Modi for PM soon after Singh appealed to the party leaders not to speak on the issue.

"This is not an issue (Thakur speaking out of turn) on which there should be any ruckus," Joshi said.

Asked about a congregation of saints at the Kumbh mela in Allahabad declaring their support for making Modi the PM candidate, the BJP leader said "I don't know what resolution the Dharma Sansad will pass or not pass. Once we know, we will decide what should be done."

Joshi said no demand for making Modi as the PM candidate has come to the BJP Parliamentary Board, the highest decision-making body of the party.

Singh has said though Modi is a very popular leader of BJP, a decision on who should be the PM candidate will be taken at an appropriate time by the Parliamentary Board.

In reply to another question, Joshi said the party's view on building a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya is clearly spelt out in the BJP manifesto.