By IANS,
Kolkata: Rubbishing rumours about differences within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the chief vigilance commissioner’s (CVC) issue, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley Saturday asserted that the whole party was united on the matter.
“There is no difference within the party on this issue. The CVC issue is totally clear. Sushamaji (Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj) raised this issue in parliament. She flagged off the issue and the whole party stood behind her. The Supreme Court judgment has vindicated the position,” said Jaitley while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a party programme here.
Earlier this month, there were reports of differences between Sushma Swaraj and Jaitley on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement owning responsibility for the appointment of P.J. Thomas as CVC. The appointment was struck down by the Supreme Court.
Sushma Swaraj had said “let matters rest” after the prime minister owned up responsibility for the appointment, but Jaitley remarked he was not satisfied with Manmohan Singh’s reply in the Rajya Sabha. He said the prime minister did not tell how the name of Thomas was “smuggled into the panel” of three names for the sensitive appointment.
“The party is fully united on the issue. Due to our protests, the prime minister gave a statement in the Rajya Sabha about the appointment. Actually the accountability of the PM to the parliamentary forum is a natural aspect of parliamentary democracy,” said Jaitley.