BJP hits out at Manmohan Singh for ruling out resignation

NEW DELHI: BJP today reacted sharply to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ruling out any possibility of his resignation in the wake of the controversy over the ordinance on convicted lawmakers, saying for him "sticking" to the chair is more important than his self-respect.

"Now the conscience of a Foreign Secretary is larger than the conscience of the Prime Minister of India. Then Foreign Secretary A P Venkateshwaran chose to resign within an hour after a public snub by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi but the PM of a great country like India chooses to stick to the chair," Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad told PTI.

He said Singh has chosen to stay on as PM in spite of a public humiliation and snub by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

"What else I can say except that the chair is more important for Prime Minister Singh than self-respect," Prasad said.

Rahul had said at an impromptu press appearance that the ordinance on convicted MPs and MLAs is "nonsense" and should be "torn up and thrown out".

The Opposition had demanded that after this insult of the Prime Minister, he should step down.