Jaitley speaks up on Jaswant: Leaders should learn to accept NO

With a sulking Jaswant Singh set to contest from Barmer as an Independent after being denied a party ticket, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday said leaders should sometimes learn to accept a "no" from the party.

"The membership of a political party is a privilege. It is also an act of self oppression where personal views and ambitions are subjected to the collective wisdom of the party. At times, the party may flood leaders with privileges and positions. On other occasions, the leader may have to take 'no' as an answer to his desires," Jaitley wrote on his website.

He said the politician or leader denied a ticket must accept the decision with a "smile".

"This becomes a test of his loyalty and discipline. Restraint and silence are always a preferred option. Over reaction may prove be a transient storm in a tea cup. Silence is always dignified and more gracious," he said in an apparent reference to Singh without naming him.

Jaitley, who is contesting the Parliamentary polls from Amritsar, said in election season, many political candidates succeed in getting a party nomination, but many more are left out.

"A political party is built upon the support of millions of political workers who have sacrificed their time and energy without ever aspiring to hold an elected office. What does a politician do when after a successful political career the party is unable to accommodate him once? That is when his discipline and political loyalty are to be tested," the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha wrote.

Upset over the denial of ticket, Singh has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections as an Independent from the Barmer seat and will file his nomination papers on Monday.

Singh, however, is not resigning from the party yet and said he would consult his colleagues before taking such a step.

Image: Arun Jaitley