The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday demanded ouster of Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for his controversial remarks against Home Ministry in Beijing, saying the minister is "at odds" with the functioning of the government. "Ramesh's apology to the Home Minister is completely inadequate and what he said in China is inappropriate... The minister is at odds with what is happening in the government. The Prime Minister should remove him," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
The minister had reportedly said in Beijing that the Home Ministry and the security establishment were being "alarmist and paranoid" when it came to Chinese companies wanting to do business in India, raising a storm. Sitharaman charged that Ramesh had published some articles in favour of Chinese companies. "I wonder if there is a pattern to this. A cabinet minister is taking up the cause of a Chinese company."
Ramesh met Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday and is said to have clarified the context of his statement. The Environment minister also reportedly offered to step down from his post but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh turned it down.
Earlier, soon after the incident, the BJP had asked the prime minister to take action against Ramesh but stopped short of outrightly demanding his removal.
