BJP refuses to condemn Fernandes's remark against PM

The BJP refuses to condemn NDA convenor George Fernandes' comments on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling them an expression of his anguish over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The BJP on Friday refused to condemn NDA convenor George Fernandes' comments on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling them an expression of his anguish over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

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"We do not condemn it," senior party leader Sushma Swaraj told a news conference in New Delhi. "It (Fernandes' statement) was an expression of anguish," she remarked.

She also parried a question whether her party approved of the former defence minister's comments that if it were China "they would have settled it with one bullet in his head" for Singh's "continuous bluffing" on the nuclear accord.

"It's not the question of my approving or disapproving something. Nor is it the question of justifying something... it's (a matter of) style and language, an aggressive statement," Swaraj said.

She alleged that the ruling Congress created uproar in the Rajya Sabha over Fernandes' statement because it wanted to stall the house before it could take up discussion on a proposed resolution on the implementation of the Sachar committee report.

Swaraj, whose party seeks voting in parliament on the 123 agreement, said NDA leaders would together hold a news conference on August 19 on the nuclear pact.