BJP indicates climbdown from 'quit PM' demand

NEW DELHI: BJP today gave further indication of a climbdown from its stand on the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the government was yet to respond to the NDA offer of resolving deadlock in Parliament if the controversial coal block allocations were cancelled and a judicial probe ordered.

The indication was given by senior BJP leader L K Advani in a blog post which came the morning after the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj tweeted that discussion in Parliament could begin if the government cancelled the coal block allocations and ordered a "fair and independent inquiry".

"The NDA has offered to resolve the deadlock if all the allotments made are cancelled and the process whereby the screening committee has decided these allocations is subjected to a judicial probe. The government is not yet prepared for this," Advani said in a blog post today.

The BJP had been unrelenting on the demand for the Prime Minister's resignation over which it has disrupted Parliament for two weeks.

Like Swaraj's comments last night on a micro-blogging site, Advani's blog also did not have any mention of the BJP's demand for Singh's resignation.

Advani kept up attack on the Prime Minister on coal block allocation issue and said his explanation in Parliament on the matter was "totally unconvincing".

Strongly defending Chhatishgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on the issue, he said his party colleague was "fully justified" in demanding a share in the revenues earned by the state as a result of competitive bidding and this cannot be construed as opposition to auction of coal blocks.