New Delhi: L K Advani has told party leaders that he does not want to continue as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for the whole of five years, senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu said today.
In the midst of raging speculation over who would be BJP's new president and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Naidu came out with a public statement saying the party is keen to have Advani's leadership and guidance and will go by his choice about the time and the person to succeed him.
He said Advani was elected leader of the party for the 15th Lok Sabha in spite of his reluctance. "He told us that he does not want to continue till the tenure of the 15th Lok Sabha and would like to hand over the responsibility to some other colleague," Naidu said.
Sushma Swaraj, Deputy Leader of the party in Lok Sabha, said yesterday that she would prefer to succeed Advani and that was why she had declined the offer of president ship of the party.
He also dismissed as incorrect reports that the RSS has set a deadline to Advani to quit his post in Lok Sabha.
Naidu referred to media reports that the RSS has chosen the next president of BJP and that it had objected to some leaders, including him, occupying that post.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 00:23