| Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also came out forcefully in defence of the NDA delegation headed by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani, which had allegedly been snubbed by the Prime Minister. |
| The delegation had met the Prime Minister to submit a memorandum listing suggested amendments to Finance Bill. |
| "Never have I seen a time when a Prime Minister lost his temper with the leaders of the Opposition and refused to even accept a memorandum from them," said Vajpayee, after an NDA meeting wherein it was decided that an agitation would be launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the tricolour issue. |
| Vajpayee taunted the Prime Minister, referring to his Independence Day speech. "Only the other day he (the Prime Minister) exhorted the political class about a "code of conduct". He has certainly not set a good example by being impolite with the NDA delegation," said Vajpayee. |
| "I urge the government to use the period between the present and the next session of Parliament to engage the Opposition parties in a constructive dialogue. Let both the government and Opposition shoulder their respective responsibilities to ensure that the next session of Parliament becomes more productive," he said. |
| Earlier BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu alleged that the version of events which happened in the Prime Minister's office in the Parliament House, narrated by Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee had serious flaws. |
| "Pranab Mukherjee's statement says the appointment was only sought for two people, Advani and Jaswant Singh and that the rest of the delegation gate crashed, this is not true the appointment was for the entire delegation," he said. |
| He added Mukherjee's statement says that former Finance Minister Jaswant Singh tried to intervene on the matter of the Finance Bill. "Jaswant Singh was silent throughout the meeting, also the statement says that the Prime Minister escorted us to the door, this is patently false," he added. |
| Incensed at this turn of events, the NDA will be meeting again. the BJP on its part is launching an agitation protesting against former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharati's incarceration. |
| The programme which will involve various BJP leaders hoisting the tri colour from September 1 onwards will culminate in a rally in Bangalore, on September 8, to be addressed by Vajpayee. |
| The NDA's demand for a public apology has put the ball firmly in the government's court. Vajpayee has also appealed to the government to use the parliamentary recess to seek out a half way point. |
| Whether a compromise is worked put is very much a matter of speculation. |
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