BJP to seek Jairam’s resignation

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said it would seek the resignation of Union Minister Jairam Ramesh if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not take action against him for his “unbecoming” comments against the Home Ministry over Chinese investments in India.

“Definitely, if the PM does not act (against him),” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here, when asked whether the BJP will seek his resignation for the comments.

“The comments of [Mr.] Ramesh in a foreign country which were critical of the Government are highly objectionable...it is unbecoming of a Union Minister. The Prime Minister owes an explanation on the internal squabbling within ministers and take action against him,” he said.

He claimed that Mr. Ramesh has given the “most bizarre” explanation for his comments that ties between India and China developed post Copenhagen summit will suffer if security guidelines on import Chinese telecom equipment are not revised.

“It is a known fact that Chinese hackers have targetted Indian websites, therefore, the Home Ministry has rightly issued the guidelines,” the BJP MP said.

Mr. Ramesh had said in Beijing on Saturday that the “overly defensive and alarmist” approach in the security establishments in India which are raising telephone tapping concerns will not help in sustaining the Copenhagen spirit.

He had said that India should be much more relaxed in its approach to Chinese investments in the country and get rid of “needless” restrictions.