Scotching speculation over his plans to retire from active politics, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday said his remarks Thursday night indicating such a course were made in "jest".
Addressing BJP workers at Sion in Mumbai on Wednesday evening, Vajpayee had responded to slogans beseeching him to lead the party once again by saying, "No more...I have had enough."
Vajpayee has been under attack for demanding the sacking of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the latter's mishandling of Gujarat riots. On Wednesday Vajpayee had said that it is for the first time in his life he has been targeted in this manner.
But less than 24 hours later he looked in a completely different mood. "There is no power struggle in the party," he said delivering the concluding address at the BJP's national executive meeting in Powai.
The former prime minister said the party's mission is not to capture power, but to "get India its place under the sun. Our mission is incomplete and we should make efforts in that direction," he said.
Later, former Union minister Yashwant Sinha described Vajpayee's speech as "very inspiring."
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