Jaitley resigns as BJP general secretary

Rumblings continued in the BJP in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha election debacle with Arun Jaitley, the target of several party leaders, resigning as general secretary but questions were raised over its timing.

Another senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who is said to be not on good terms with either with L K Advani or party President Rajnath Singh, took potshots at the leadership on its gag order but was against severing ties with the Sangh Parivar because of election defeat.

Jaitley, whose appointment as leader of BJP in the Rajya Sabha that enabled him to become the Leader of the Opposition in the House and which has been attacked by leaders like Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha, resigned from the post of general secretary in accordance with the principle of one-man, one-post, party President Rajnath Singh said today.

Maintaining that Jaitley’s letter was sent to him “six-seven” days ago, Singh said the resignation had nothing to do with the latest developments in the party reeling under attack over nominations made by Advani in the parliamentary party.

In his three-line letter, claimed to have been sent before he went abroad on a vacation last week, Jaitley said he was resigning from the post of general secretary under the one-man, one-post rule of the party after his appointment as leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

However, questions were raised as to why the resignation of Jaitley, the chief strategist in the Lok Sabha elections, was not announced earlier if it was made six or seven days ago.

Nalin Kohli, convener of the party’s media cell, sought to downplay the issue saying it had probably come to media notice only today.

Sushma Swaraj, party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, termed the resignation as natural in keeping the principle of one-man, one post.

The resignation assumes significance in the context of attacks by Jaswant Singh at last week’s meeting of the Core Group in which he had sought a link between performance and rewards.

Another leader Yashwant Sinha had written a strong letter last week to Rajnath Singh demanding the resignation of all leaders from party posts in keeping with the principle of accountability in the wake of the election defeat.

He had also virtually questioned Advani’s nominations to the parliamentary posts and Rajnath Singh’s continuance as president saying there seemed to be a premium in the party on failure.

Joshi, who met reporters in Allahabad, appeared to be taking potshots at the leadership on its gag order on its leaders and made it clear that the party should not sever its links with the Sangh Parivar just because it lost elections.