PM remark was for ‘somebody else’: Jaitley

Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sarcastically commented in Parliament that the BJP leader LK Advani thought of Prime Ministership as his “birthright” — adding that he should wait another 3.5 years for it — senior party leader Arun Jaitley hit back, obliquely suggesting the PM’s statement was meant for the Congress first family.

Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sarcastically commented in Parliament that the BJP leader LK Advani thought of Prime Ministership as his “birthright” — adding that he should wait another 3.5 years for it — senior party leader Arun Jaitley hit back, obliquely suggesting the PM’s statement was meant for the Congress first family.

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“When he addressed Advani ji to suggest that he feels it is his birthright to be PM and that he has to wait 3.5 years, though he named Advani ji, he was addressing somebody else,” Jaitley told reporters, tongue firmly in cheek.

“Democratic parties that elect leaders on the basis of merit never accept the concept of birthright. It is only political parties that believe in dynastic politics who are committed to the concept of birthright.”

“He was addressing somebody else and wanted that somebody to wait for 3.5 years,” Jaitley said.

In this, he not only attacked the Congress as “anti-democratic” but also alleged the Prime Minister did not want Rahul Gandhi to rise to the top post anytime soon.

With both Swaraj and Jaitley being together in the press conference, the BJP tried to project a united face.