Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj met expelled leader Jaswant Singh on Monday to ask him to step down as the chairman of the Parliament Public Accounts Committee. Jaswant Singh refused.
This was Sushma's first meeting with Jaswant after his expulsion, fuelling speculation that there could be conciliation in the air. But the BJP made it clear that there was no question of Jaswant Singh returning to the party.
Sources said Sushma told Jaswant that the PAC post should belong to the main Opposition party. The party contends that since he is not a BJP MP anymore, he should not be chairman of the PAC. But Jaswant refused to quit as chairman.
The BJP is now exploring options after Jaswant's refusal.
Jaswant's expulsion from the party came just a few days after he had been appointed as the PAC chairman, at the behest of the BJP.
The 22-member Public Accounts Committee examines accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for the expenditure of the government. It has 15 members from the Lok Sabha, seven from the Rajya Sabha.
Sushma is also believed to have requested Jaswant to cease attacking BJP patriarch LK Advani in public.
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