Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has said it was time to “let matters rest” after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had “accepted responsibility” for the fiasco that ended with the Supreme Court quashing the September 2010 appointment of P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
Soon after Dr. Singh told reporters in Jammu on Friday he respected the Supreme Court judgment on the matter and accepted responsibility, Ms. Swaraj tweeted: “I appreciate the statement of the Prime Minister owning responsibility for the appointment of the CVC, which has been quashed by the Supreme Court. I think this is enough. Let matters rest.”
Although some of her fans on Twitter persistently asked her why she was not demanding the Prime Minister's resignation, she insisted that matters should be allowed to rest.
On Thursday, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani refrained from asking for the Prime Minister's resignation. “What is the point of asking for his resignation?”
And some other senior BJP leaders said on Friday it suited the party to have a Prime Minister with a somewhat dented image continue in office. “The Teflon coated image he had [in 2004] has evaporated … this suits us.”
Not for early polls
Party leaders denied there was any softening of their attitude to the Prime Minister. “We are being practical. There has been 100 per cent non-Congress and non-UPA opposition unity for some time now. If we are seen to be pushing the 15th Lok Sabha towards an early dissolution and early elections, most MPs cutting across party lines, will not like it. We don't want to lose opposition unity,” was one reason given for the BJP's sudden civility towards the Prime Minister.
