Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said she was "overruled but not snubbed" by party chief Nitin Gadkari over her 'let the matter rest' remarks following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the appointment of P J Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
"My response is always based on issues. In that case, I genuinely felt that the matter should rest there (after the Prime Minister admitted mistake)," the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
But at the same time, Swaraj admitted that her opinion was "overruled" by Gadkari. She ruled out that there was divergence of views on the issue.
"I hold the view that the Prime Minister accepted the responsibility on the floor of the House...he did not said what he had told a press conference in Jammu. I got up (in Lok Sabha) and asked whether he would not repeat the same thing. He then repeated what he had said in Jammu," Swaraj told TV channels.
She said Gadkari thought otherwise after speaking with other party colleagues. "What he stated became party line...it is not at all a snub...many a times Atal ji and Advaniji have been overruled...we are a democratic party," she said.
Swaraj said her tweet that BJP must move forward does not mean "not to catch him on other issues...no Prime Minister in 64 years has admitted a mistake," she said.
"I appreciate the statement of the Prime Minister owning responsibility for the appointment of CVC which has been quashed by Supreme Court. I think this is enough. Let matters rest at this and we move forward," Swaraj had said on Twitter earlier this month.
But Gadkari said the matter would not end there and BJP would take the issue to the people.
