Vajpayee not to blame: Sushma Swaraj

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj has made it clear that the party does not blame Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the party's election debacle.

She said the result was the collective responsibility of the party and no one person, certainly not the prime minister, could be held responsible.

She added that though the party was concerned about its performance, today was not a day to sit down and analyse what had happened and why it had happened.

At the Cabinet meeting that took place, she said Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani spoke of how the party was happy it had run a successful government that had benefited the country in many ways. But, he added, the image of the party, and of Vajpayee, was so strong that the people may have expected much more than the government was able to deliver.

When asked about Vajpayee's successor, she said there was no question about choosing any successor. The BJP would continue to be led by Vajpayee. It was the media that was hyping the issue of succession; as far as the BJP was concerned, no such issue existed.