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The resignation of Bharatiya Janata Party president Bangaru Laxman should not have been accepted and he should have been allowed to continue, Union Health Minister C P Thakur said in New Delhi on Thursday.
"Laxman's resignation should not have been accepted. I say he should not have resigned in the first instance," Thakur told reporters after the controversy of clandestine videotapes showing Laxman allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 100,000 from arms dealers.
"No doubt that the videotapes have created a storm, but one should have maintained composure and not allowed him to resign," Thakur said.
Stating that Defence Minister Fernandes should also not have resigned, he said, "What is his fault? He is the first defence minister who has asked the central vigilance commissioner to probe all defence deals."
Asked whether Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly should have submitted her resignation, Thakur said, "We should analyse her statement in the tapes. At no point of time has she accepted that she would help in striking the deal."
About the videotapes, he said some foreign powers were trying to destabilise the country by indulging in acts such as the video expose by a Delhi-based Web site.
"We should know that a small Web site cannot go in such a big way. Definitely some foreign powers, which are jealous of country's progress, were behind such an act," he said.
He also said the credentials of the journalists should be scrutinised.
PTI
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