Why did Rajnath sit on Jaitley's resignation?

Why did Bharatiya Janata Party chief Rajnath Singh sit on party general secretary Arun Jaitley's resignation when he had done so the day he was nominated as leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha? This is the question that journalists, who arrived at the party headquarters in New Delhi following the development, sought answer to from BJP stalwarts.

Interestingly, Rajnath did not mention a word about Jaitley's resignation during his elaborate press conference on June 13. Instead, he spent most of the time countering allegations levelled by party leader Yashwant Sinha in his letter addressed to the BJP chief.

It was only after Sinha sought a probe into how the letter reached the media that Rajnath held an impromptu briefing with a select group of journalists to drop the bombshell regarding Jaitley's resignation.

"He resigned in keeping with the party's principles of one man, one post. His resignation has nothing to do with Sinha's letter," he told the media persons. 

It is believed that the tussle between the group headed by Advani and the one led by Jaswant Singh may take further toll on the BJP. Sinha, in his recent interview with rediff.com, had warned that things would become clear before the national executive and top brass of the party, including Advani, may once again offer to resign.

A close aide of Advani said Jaitley's resignation should not be seen in different light. "It is a routine thing. But there is no question of Advaniji and others resigning," he added.