Sonia should ask Congress VP to resign, seek apology: Rajnath

'I am surprised to read a statement of Sonia Gandhi where she said the BJP had made fun of the prime minister'

Hitting back at Sonia Gandhi, BJP president Rajnath Singh today said if she has any concern for Prime Minister's respect, she should ask Rahul Gandhi to resign as Congress vice-president or seek apology for his statement on the ordinance on convicted lawmakers.

"I am surprised to read a statement of Soniaji where she said that the BJP made fun of the Prime Minister, but the whole party is beside him (PM). I would request Soniaji that there should not be any attempt of face-saving by your party. The person who made fun of the PM is the vice-president of the Congress, not the BJP," Singh told a press conference here.

"BJP did not show any disrespect to the Prime Minister. If Soniaji has any concern for the respect of the PM, she should ask Congress vice-president to resign or tender an apology to the country," he said.

The BJP chief said that when the PM is out of the country, he is not the Prime Minister of a political party, but he represents the entire nation.

"At that time, snubbing the PM, putting a question mark on his credibility or even dubbing an ordinance a complete nonsense defeats the very purpose for which the PM has gone abroad," he said.

Gandhi had trashed the ordinance as "complete nonsense" and said it should be "torn up and thrown away".

The BJP president said that his party was opposed to the ordinance meant to safeguard convicted parliamentarians and legislators.

"Our leaders L K Advani, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley had already met the President to express our party's opposition to the ordinance."

"I would humbly request the President that the ordinance which has been sent to him for his assent should kindly be returned," he said.