Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said there is a need for the Bharatiya Janata Party to introspect in the light of alleged drug abuse by Rahul Mahajan, the son of slain party leader Pramod Mahajan.
"Mistakes can be made by people and by the party. It will take time to rectify them," Vajpayee said in Gwalior on Thursday night.
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Regarding the Rahul Mahajan incident, Vajpayee had earlier said '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'.
Claiming that this statement was interpreted out of context, Vajpayee said he was speaking about Rahul making a 'mistake', from a human perspective.
"The law will take its own course. Those who have made mistakes will have to pay for it," he said.
Stressing the importance of discipline within the party, Vajpayee said, "Indiscipline will not be tolerated in the BJP. People have been removed from the party for it and this practice will be followed."
Without naming former party leader Uma Bharti, he ruled out chances of return by those asked to leave the party due to indiscipline.
