Maran's resignation long overdue: Opposition

Opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, on Thursday termed Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran's resignation from the Union Cabinet as "long overdue" and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explain why action against "corrupt" ministers was delayed.

They also claimed that Maran's resignation was "too little" and "too late" and the CBI presented the "true facts" with regard to the 2G Spectrum scam only because the investigations are being monitored by the Supreme Court.

The BJP said Maran's resignation was "long overdue" and demanded that Home Minister P Chidambaram too should follow suit.

"P Chidambaram should resign. We have already demanded this as the 2G spectrum scam could not have occurred had the finance ministry (then headed by him) not changed its stand on the issue of auctioning radio waves," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

On Maran, Javadekar said he should have resigned long back and asked why the prime minister delayed the removal of "corrupt members" of his team.

"Initially, efforts are made to defend them. When all routes are exhausted, action is taken," he said.

In Chennai, AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa said it was long overdue and the prime minister should have made Maran quit earlier.

"This is long overdue. The prime minister should have made him resign long ago," she said.

Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo member Brinda Karat said Maran resigned because there was no alternative for him and sought an explanation from the prime minister on the issue.