Vajpayee joked on Bofors: Fernandes

After having come under attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party and his own party, the Janata Dal (United), former Defence Minister George Fernandes retracted his remarks that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had asked him "not to touch" the Bofors file.

Seeking to downplay the controversy, which saw both the BJP and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav disowning his remarks, Fernandes said Vajpayee had been "joking" when he asked him not to touch the Bofors file.

"I have been misquoted in my interview. Vajpayee was joking when he asked me not to touch the Bofors file," he said.

Sources in the BJP and the JD(U) said Fernandes' remarks did not amuse either party and he had to face irate communication from both. "Which is why you see the retraction," said a source.

JD(U)'s Yadav, who had also been part of the Vajpayee government, denied that such a matter had ever been discussed in the government at that time. "You will have to ask George Fernandes when Vajpayeeji said this to him," he said, just before Fernandes denied the statement. However, on Sunday, the JD(U) chief termed the controversy as a closed chapter . "The matter is closed. Fernandes has already clarified," Yadav told reporters in New Delhi.

Asked if the party felt uncomfortable with such statements from Fernandes, he said that question should be put to Fernandes.

Yadav also parried a question as to how JD(U) felt about Fernandes' growing proximity to Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying on occasions like Ram Manohar Lohia's anniversary, all socialist leaders come together on a common platform.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shanakar Prasad claimed to be mystified over Fernandes' remarks. "This statement has no basis in fact and I really do not know why he said it," he had said yesterday, when Fernandes first made his statement.

Meanwhile, Yadav also announced that the BJP, the JD(U) and the Apna Dal, a local party in Uttar Pradesh, would have an electoral understanding in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. "However, the seat distribution is yet to be decided," he said.