Rajnath Singh brushes aside rumours of rift with Modi

New Delhi: Brushing aside reports of differences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said his relations with Modi was "too sacred, emotional and deep" and that he would ensure it is never spoilt even if he is "personally harmed".

The Home Minister also made it clear that Modi's primacy in the Union Cabinet was "very natural and not imposed".

"Let me tell you that in the past one-and-a-half years, our relationship has grown quite deep.... Those who are speculating about our relationship are totally unaware of its depth.

"It is too sacred, emotional and deep to let anything spoil it. I will not let this happen even if I am personally harmed. You see, in my public life, credibility is the only capital I have earned. And I am determined not to fritter it away and lead the life of an animal (pashuvat jeevan jeena sweekar nahin)," the Home Minister was quoted as saying in the latest issue of 'Governance Now'.

Singh was responding to questions about his equation with Modi especially in view of the much-talked relations in the past between former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee with Sardar Patel and L K Advani respectively. Singh, a former BJP President, sought to put speculation at rest that there was anything wrong between him and Modi.

"If I have established a deep personal and emotional bond with a certain individual, I cannot think of harming him or her in any way. I cannot commit the sin of harming someone close to me simply because I have developed some differences with that person. This is not my politics." Singh also appeared to admit that there may be some people nursing grievances against him "over some confusion" in the past.

"I am open to talking to them and resolving the issues. You must have noted consistency in my conduct even when I faced friends-turned-foes in Uttar Pradesh. I have never used any derogatory description for even the worst of my adversaries and never harmed them," he said.