Government rules out Sushma Swaraj quitting, Parliament session may be stormy

NEW DELHI: The Monsoon Session of Parliament is set to be stormy with Government today rejecting outright the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and any of the BJP Chief Ministers, issues over which the Opposition have closed ranks and plan to corner the treasury benches.

While the Opposition is determined to seek the scalp of Swaraj, Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh over various "scams", Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today ruled out any such possibility.

"The Question does not arise at all. She is one of the best performing ministers. Nothing wrong has been done (by her) morally or legally," Naidu said when asked about the Opposition's demand for Swaraj's resignation.

The Union Minister was also dismissive about the demand for Raje's resignation wondering what Parliament has to do with a Chief Minister.

"What Parliament has got to do with Chief Minister, I am not able to understand. Parliament is for Government of India...Chief Minister belongs to a state. If there is an issue of a state, it has to be discussed in the Assembly," he told CNN-IBN.

Naidu also expressed disappointment over reports that political parties planning to obstruct the session, and requested them to make "positive" contributions.

"I was little upset over reports that some parties want to obstruct the session. I hope they won't. The session is there to discuss, debate and decide. I request all political parties to make positive contributions in the coming session of Parliament.

"Whatever they (parties) want to speak or highlight, they have every right to do it as per the rules and government will be willing to discuss all the issues," he said in the backdrop of Opposition gearing up to corner the government over a host of issues, including Vyapam scam, and Lalit Modi controversy.