The BJP today asserted it has not given up its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation but would allow Parliament to function only if all the coal block allocations made during the UPA rule are cancelled and a fair, impartial probe is ordered.
The BJP leaders denied that there were differences within the party rank and file over Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj’s tweet on her conversation with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in which she apparently did not emphasise on PM’s resignation as a pre-condition for running the House.
“There were two pre-conditions given for a debate in Parliament. This does not mean that the third issue of resignation of the Prime Minister has been given up. In the course of the debate in Parliament, if at all it had taken place, our MPs would have certainly demanded his resignation,” Swaraj’s Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley told reporters.
The party maintained that cancellation of the coal blocks would in itself be an admission of guilt and a ground for Dr Singh to step down. “This (Swaraj’s offer) also provided an opportunity to the government to provide its bona fide and fairness. The government, by rejecting the very idea of cancelling the coal block allocations, has conclusively demonstrated that it has a vested interest in continuing this arbitrary and discretionary allocation,” Jaitley said.
The BJP also maintained Swaraj had aired the party view to Mrs Gandhi and there is unanimity in the party on this score. Mrs Gandhi had first called Swaraj on Thursday and the latter put cancellation of coal blocks and fair probe as the conditions. Swaraj had consulted Jaitley and BJP parliamentary party chief L.K. Advani before taking this stand.
Mrs Gandhi called Swaraj again on Friday after talking to Dr Singh, who had returned from his Iran tour, and said her demands were not acceptable, sources said.