New Delhi:
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj today termed as an "after thought" HomeMinister P Chidambaram's claim that he had not misled the CVC selection panel and his contention that the BJP leader was making "thoughtless allegations". "I have seen that (Chidambaram's) statement. I have to only say that if he knew the case was pending it was the primary duty of the government to apprise the selection committee of that. They did not do that," she told reporters. "All that he is saying are after thought. These factsare absolutely irrelevant," she added. Earlier in the day, Chidambaram had refuted Swaraj's charges that he had misled the CVC selection panel about the Palmolein case pending against P J Thomas. "I take exception to the statement by Sushma Swaraj that I had 'misled the selection committee' and told the committee that Thomas had been 'acquitted'," Chidambaram said in a statement. He said Swaraj is "tying herself in knots" by making "thoughtless allegations".However, Swaraj stood her ground despite Chidambaram's claims. "The first thing which he committed was that he concealed this information from the selection committee. It was me whobrought this to the committee that there was a case and then he (Chidambaram) said he (P J Thomas) was acquitted," Swaraj said.