A desperate attempt to save face, says BJP

The BJP today slammed Congress President's Sonia Gandhi's resignation from the Lok Sabha and chairmanship of the National Advisory Council (NAC) as "a desperate attempt to save face".

Party General Secretary Arun Jaitley said, "The politics of revenge has recoiled. It (the resignation) is a confession of a culprit caught red-handed trying to subvert the Constitution and Parliament," Jaitley said.

The BJP leader said the party was against back-dated implementation of any law on MPs occupying office of profit

Asked whether Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and BJP leaders like VK Malhotra, who, too, are accused of holding office of profit, should also step down, he said, "Every individual has his own case which they should present before the Election Commission and the President. It is for the commission to decide," indicating that BJP MPs holding office of profit were not expected to resign.

He said the whole issue (of Ordinance to exempt some posts) was "being handled by the UPA government in a pathetic and a ham-handed manner and the Ordinance was being brought to save one person." That the government planned to bring an Ordinance was evident from the fact that a Parliament in session was "deliberately adjourned to create a situation where an ordinance could be issued," he said.

"Fortunately, unlike in the dictatorship which was prevalent in 1975, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi could bring in laws to validate her election. In 2006, the state of Indian democracy is such that this could not happen," said Jaitley.

The BJP office-bearers will be meeting tomorrow to chalk out further strategy on the issue, Jaitley said.