Bhopal, June 15 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj has declined to join issue with her colleagues over the reasons for the party’s poll debacle, saying “it is best to keep quiet when a volcano has erupted”.
“(In such circumstances) raising any new issue could do the job of a spark,” she told a few media persons here Sunday evening.
Swaraj, who was named BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, said: “A phase of controversies came after the election results, but Rajnath Singh has put an end to it.”
Her comments come two days after party president Rajnath Singh warned party seniors not to air their views on the poll debacle.
The BJP’s tally has come down to 116 in the Lok Sabha from 138 it won in the 2004 polls.
Swaraj, who won the elections from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, said the election results would be discussed at the party’s national executive committee on June 20 and 21.
Senior party leader Yashwant Sinha quit Saturday from all party posts alleging that the party was avoiding an analysis of the poll outcome while those behind the campaigning were being rewarded.
A similar charge was made earlier by Jaswant Singh in a letter to Rajnath Singh. Later in an interview to NDTV news channel he said the party needs to re-invent itself.
Rajnath Singh, in his Saturday press conference, said there would be a “chintan baithak (brainstorming session)” in August. He had earlier said the national executive would discuss the elections.