BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday rejected Jaswant Singh's allegations of personality cult in the party around Narendra Modi and suggested the rebel leader's outburst against BJP leadership was only because of denial of ticket.
The party was "exploiting" Modi's charisma in the run-up to elections but it will be an NDA government headed by him and not his personal government, Jaitley said, downplaying the criticism that BJP was playing second fiddle to Modi in the campaign.
"I would have had greater faith in the comment of Jaswant Singh if he had made it a week earlier. If he felt all this was going on, he has been attending every meeting of the party and he should have said it a week earlier," the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha said while attending a Google Hangout interaction.
The former Union minister, who is fighting Lok Sabha election from Barmer as an independent after being denied the BJP ticket, had said that the chant of "Namo, Namo" and the manner in which decisions are being taken reminded him 1975 when Emergency was imposed by Indira Gandhi.
Responding to the charge of Modi pushing the party to the backburner, he said, "If you ask him (Modi) the same question, he will also answer that he is not heading a personal government. He will be heading a NDA government".
Asked about his reportedly unilateral style of functioning as Gujarat Chief Minister, Jaitley said CMs are a powerful personality in states but in Delhi the Prime Minister must be "decisive" and "inspirational".
"Can you rule every state with one individual? Take Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan or Goa or other state ruled by us, don't the CM there have key role. "In fact, the BJP CMs are far more powerful than other party. Can one say one man sitting in Delhi will govern the whole of India, it does not happen this way," he said.
Jaitley has been the most vocal senior party leader in defending the decision of denying the ticket to Singh and had earlier said that leaders should learn to accept 'no' from the party. Singh has hit back at him, saying his aspirations are "punishing".
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