Agencies

Manali, Jun 5: Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's comment on the alleged drug abuse by late BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan’s son Rahul Mahajan was that "such mistakes happen in young age."

"Chances of such mistakes are possible when you fall in bad company and that is what happened to Rahul," Vajpayee explained.

Asked whether the episode had tarnished the image of BJP, which was planning to give some responsibility to Rahul, Vajpayee replied in the negative.

"We will try to find the truth first," he said when asked whether the party would take any action against Rahul who is admitted in Delhi's Apollo Hospital.

Regarding who would be BJP's next 'Laxman', the title given to late Pramod Mahajan by him, Vajpayee quipped, "only one Laxman is born."

Vajpayee's latest support would come as a great relief for the Mahajan family, which has been alleging that it is a victim of a bigger conspiracy.

Vajpayee is currently in Manali for a summer break and had some suggestions for the second-generation leaders of the party. On being asked who will be the leader for the next generation, Vajpayee quipped, "Leaders are not made they evolve themselves".

Vajpayee also criticised the UPA Government for "going soft on terror".

Referring to the recent terror attacks across the country, Vajpayee said, "Now we are witnessing more acts of terror from Kashmir to Kanyakumari as the UPA Government has repealed the stringent acts brought out by the NDA government to tackle terrorism".