On the eve of the crucial Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary Board meeting on Sunday, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appeared to have piped down a bit on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying the issue of his removal is now a 'thing of the past'.

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"That has become an issue of the past. Look at the new year and the coming assembly elections, which we have to face," he told reporters Bhuntar (Kullu) when asked whether he still favoured Modi's removal.