Parrikar in pickle over LK quip TNN 23 September 2009, 07:26am IST PANAJI/NEW DELHI: Manohar Parrikar, whose name has been mentioned as a possible successor to BJP president Rajnath Singh, got himself in a pickle after he used the word in reference to L K Advani’s age in an interview with a TV channel on Tuesday. Areport by a news agency claimed that Parrikar had compared Advani to an aging pickle and said his political innings was “more or less over’’.
“Pickle tastes good when it’s left to mature for a year. But when you keep it for more than two years, it turns rancid. Advaniji’s period is more or less over. Another couple of years, maybe. But he should be around as a guide or a mentor for party members,’’ the agency quoted Parrikar as saying. Parrikar termed the report a piece of “yellow journalism’’. “I have not said this. Parts of my interview were selectively chosen and shown as if I made it in the same context,’’ he said. ` “I spoke about how L K Advani was my favourite leader and how his period was more or less over. I referred to Sachin Tendulkar, who matured as a player like a pickle. But there will come a time when he will have to stop. Then, I referred to pickle. Like a pickle tastes good after a year, but is bad after a couple of years,’’ Parrikar said. Parikkar’s statement is being seen as a blatant attack on Advani, who been assigned has the task of ensuring a smooth transition in BJP by the RSS. With this, the focus in BJP seems to be back on the question of whether Advani should continue as the Leader of Opposition. Also, interestingly, when Arun Shourie had attacked the party leadership saying “bomb the headquarters’’, one of the leaders he had praised was Parrikar. “Advaniji is my icon. The media is distorting my comments. I only asked for a young person—between 40 and 55 years of age—to be party president. I stand by my comments,’’ said Parrikar. Asked about his name doing the rounds for party presidentship, Parrikar said he was not in the race. “There’s lot of wrong projection of BJP which can be cleared with a fresh face,’’ he said on BJP’s future. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/goa/Parrikar-in-pickle-over-LK-quip/articleshow/5045165.cms * * * Sachin-coated pill, er, pickle... RADHIKA RAMASESHAN New Delhi, Sept. 22: Even being compared to Sachin Tendulkar can leave you feeling in a bit of a pickle, L.K. Advani has found out. Manohar Parrikar, one of the BJP’s rising stars, yesterday drew parallels between the “innings” of Advani and India’s best batsman. That was no doubt a great advance on a comparison to Humpty Dumpty — as rebel MP Arun Shourie had recently dubbed the party brass — but Parrikar’s next comment would have left Advani with a sour taste in the mouth. A failure to retire in time may turn even a great career into spoilt pickle, the former Goa chief minister told a Konkani channel last night. The BJP, now used to its leaders brawling in public, put up a stoical face but off the cameras, officials admitted themselves flummoxed. Parrikar, a possible candidate for BJP president in RSS eyes, today translated the interview for The Telegraph. It all apparently began when he named Advani as his “favourite” leader in an answer to a question. “I praised Advani for his integrity and character and said he is currently playing an excellent innings. I spoke of my second love after politics, which is cricket, and named Tendulkar as my favourite player,” he said over the phone. “Tendulkar is maturing day by day but even the best player has his limitation and has to stop playing some day. It’s like pickle. It tastes best for a year after maturing but spoils after two years.” Parrikar stressed that the reference to spoilt pickle came in relation to his comments on Tendulkar and not Advani. There were enough hints in the interview, however, that party elders should now fade away. “I was asked if a young person is suited to take over as (party) president. I replied, ‘Yes, ideally between 45 and 55’,” the 53-year-old said. He added that Advani should think of “mentoring” the BJP. Parrikar is the first BJP leader to publicly echo RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat’s suggestion for a “generation change” at the top in the BJP. Sources denied that Parrikar was positioning himself in the race, arguing the reference to youth was “just a way” of nudging Advani to consider Bhagwat’s proposal “seriously”. “The RSS has said what it had to, and it is for Advani to take it from there. If he’s not prepared to do it, the Sangh will start pressure him through more such interviews,” a source said. Advani himself had virtually compared himself to Tendulkar last August, saying: “When we lost (the polls), people were disappointed the way they get disappointed whenever Tendulkar gets out in the 90s.” It prompted a critic to say that unlike Tendulkar, who withdrew when he realised he was a better batsman than captain, Advani was “unwilling to… let the party move on under a new captain”. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090923/jsp/nation/story_11530583.jsp * * * Parrikar’s remark has BJP abuzz HERALD REPORTERS Compares Advani to an ageing, rancid pickle PANJIM/NEW DELHI SEPT 22 Goa’s Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar created a flutter in the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi over an interview he gave to a local TV channel wherein he reportedly compared veteran leader L K Advani to an ageing, rancid pickle but the party said the former chief minister was misquoted and misinterpreted. While the news channel carried Parrikar’s interview last night, trouble started for him Tuesday morning when a news agency released a report quoting him on the latest political power struggle at the party’s central level. In the interview Parrikar was replying to a question pertaining to Rashtriya Swayamsevak’s (RSS) proposal shortlisting him for national presidentship of the BJP. The party’s headquarters was virtually mobbed by media persons for their reaction to Parrikar’s reported remarks on Advani. While India Abroad News Service reported saying that Parrikar “has likened” party veteran L.K. Advani to ageing pickle and said his political innings were “more or less over”, Press Trust of India in the evening released a report saying Advani was compared to a “rancid pickle” by Parrikar. Parrikar who was agitated by the reports vehemently denied the reports saying he never likened Advani to rancid pickle. The former chief minister denied his reference of rancid pickle was to Advani claiming it was a general comment. “The media is distorting my comments. I only asked for a young person – between 40 and 55 years of age – to be the party president. I stand by my comments”, he told an agency. His supporters and friends were angry the manner in which the national media reported his interview given to the local channel. The news channel which had interviewed Parrikar said it would be wrong to say Parrikar “likened” Advani to rancid pickle but admitted that Goa’s opposition leader “compared Advani to rancid pickle”. Most party leaders at the central level preferred to remain silent to the remarks. According to both the agencies, Parrikar said Advani had only a couple of more years left in active politics. “Pickle tastes good when it is left to mature for a year. But when if you keep it for more than two years, it turns rancid”, they quoted Parrikar as saying. He reportedly further said that Advani’s period is more or less over. “Another couple of years, maybe. But he should be around as a guide or a mentor for the party members,” Parrikar said adding he should be available whenever we need him. His capability and experience should be available for BJP. However, Parrikar, further said Advani had been the best leader in the BJP in terms of integrity and character. “I have great respect for Advaniji on these counts,” he said. Calling for a change in guard at the party’s helm, Parrikar, 54, said it would have to project a new youthful face with credibility, the agency said. “I am not against elders, but the BJP should give prominence to leaders who are between 40 and 60 years,” he said. Party spokesperson Ravi Shanker Prasad refused to answer any queries on the matter. “I don’t know anything. I am not supposed to react to everything,” he said and hung up, according to the agency. http://www.oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=27705&cid=10