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Deepshikha Ghosh in New Delhi
Feisty Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Nirupam vowed on Monday that he would never apologise for his remarks against the Prime Minister's Office over the UTI scandal.
Nirupam, whose remarks last week led Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to threaten to resign, did not attend Parliament, although he was widely expected to express regret in the Rajya Sabha.
In fact none of the Shiv Sena's five MPs attended the Upper House on Monday. The Shiv Sena is a member of the ruling coalition National Democratic Front.
Asked if he would apologise to Vajpayee, Nirupam first said, "Not today."
Asked if he would do so later, he shot back, "I don't think so. I will express regret, but no apology."
Nirupam created a stir in Parliament last week when he alleged that some PMO officials had influenced state-run Unit Trust of India, India's largest mutual fund, to make dubious investments, leading to the collapse of its flagship US-64 scheme.
This has affected some 20 million mainly middle class families.
A peeved Vajpayee threatened to resign on July 31, saying he was finding it difficult to enforce discipline in the ruling coalition.
The coalition held an emergency meeting the next day and persuaded him to stay on.
"I will not withdraw my statement, in the interest of probity and transparency," Nirupam said.
On Sunday, in interviews to newspapers, he kept up his tirade against officials in the PMO and alleged that the prime minister was blind to corruption around him.
Indo-Asian News Service
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