New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday ridiculed former prime minister V P Singh's claim in his memoirs that he had once wanted to quit the party, describing it as laughable.
"V P Singh's remarks that I was then unhappy with the party are not only far from the truth but laughable," Vajpayee said in a statement.
In his book Manzilon Se Zayada Safar, Singh has said that Vajpayee became so unhappy with the BJP some 20 years ago that he had mulled over the idea of creating a new party.
BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is now the Vice President, agreed with this proposal, Singh claimed in his memoirs.
Vajpayee also rebutted Singh's comment that he suggested to him that he should take the lead in setting up a new party. "I never suggested to him that he should take some selected people along and move ahead as he has written in his book," Vajpayee said.
Vajpayee also said Singh's comments on him in his book could create misunderstanding. "Some of the portions of the book have surprised me... that is why I have given this statement so as to clear doubts (arising from the memoirs)," Vajpayee said.
The BJP, which gave reporters copies of a page from the book containing references to Vajpayee, Jaswant Singh and Shekhawat, flayed Singh for his comments.
"V P Singh is good at poetry and painting. He should stop trying his hand at prose," said BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad.
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