Congress, BJP spar over Katju's remarks
Opposition demands dismissal of the Press Council chairman, Congress stands by him
 "Congress, BJP spar over Katju's remarks")
Rejecting the BJP's demand, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh jumped to Katju's defence, saying he had always been impartial and wondered whether Jaitley was reacting in this manner because he "owed" his Rajya Sabha seat to Gujarat Chief Minister Modi.
Upping the ante against the PCI chief, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha accused Katju of "crossing the red lines repeatedly" and not using the language befitting a former judge.
"Katju has been crossing the red line repeatedly through his various press statements. What kind of judge Katju was I don't know but I am convinced he does not deserve to be the chairman of an important body like the Press Council of India. He should be dismissed immediately. There is no point in asking for his resignation. Secondly, he has no business interfering in politics. Press Council chairman is not going to determine who is going to be the Prime Minister of this country," Sinha said.
Katju and Jaitley had yesterday engaged in a spat over the former's article in a newspaper which criticised Modi.
"This is not the part of his jurisdiction. What he has done is that he has confused his personal opinion, with that of the PCI chairman, therefore he does not deserve to hold the office of the PCI chairman," Sinha said.
Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said whatever observations Justice Katju had made were his own observations. He is working as an independent person as Chairman of the Press Council of India and he is a man of reputation. The BJP is in the habit of making baseless allegations, Alvi said.
Lok Janashakti Party backed Katju by saying that be it Gujarat or Bihar, NDA governments are "playing the game of statistics and manipulation" in the name of development and criticised Jaitley for his "unjustified" anger.