BJP sticks to its demand for PM's resignation

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to stick to its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation in the coming week, with senior party leaders seeming determined not to give an exit route to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Sources said BJP leaders felt they had waged a war against corruption and each political party, irrespective of ideology, would have to decide whether it would support the UPA government on the issue, or side with the Opposition in protesting against the alleged acts of corruption.

Though members of the UPA government are trying hard to convince the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to withdraw its demand for the prime minister’s resignation and allow Parliament to function, sources say BJP leaders don’t want to accept the argument, as they believe any discussion on the issue of allocating coal blocks would not yield any result. “We are not fighting alone; we have the support of some political parties. When such a major battle is on, all political parties will have to take a stand and decide which side they are on,” said Arun Jaitley, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

While the Union government is trying to convince the BJP leadership to let the prime minister make a statement in Parliament before he leaves for a three-day visit to Tehran for a Non-Aligned Movement summit, BJP leaders are not ready to budge.

“Sometimes, obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefit for the country. Former telecom minister A Raja had resigned because of pressure by the Opposition. Similarly, the Union government had agreed to set up the joint parliamentary committee on the 2G spectrum allocation scam because of the BJP’s continuous pressure,” Jaitley argued.

The BJP leadership has asked Sushma Swaraj, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to hold discussions on the matter with all parties in the Opposition. Swaraj, along with other senior party leaders, is expected to discuss the matter with Left parties, the Biju Janata Dal, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party to convince them to join the BJP in demanding the prime minister’s resignation.

Senior BJP leaders had also met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek her support, but Banerjee did not favour the proposition.