The main Opposition BJP on Saturday night sought immediate dismissal of law minister Salman Khurshid from the Cabinet. But the Congress avoided commenting on the Election Commission’s letter to President Pratibha Patil seeking “immediate decisive” action against a “defiant and aggressive” law minister.

“We demand his immediate sacking from the Union Cabinet and ask the Prime Minister to clarify the stand of the government,” said BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
“Today, an extraordinary situation has arisen. There is a serious conflict between two constitutional authorities because of the action of some ministers of the Union Cabinet,” said Mr Naqvi.
He said the President of India and the Prime Minister should immediately intervene “in this extraordinary situation as this is the first time such a situation has arisen in the history of democratic India.”
He said the law minister had challenged the EC’s earlier order and said that “religion-based unconstitutional reservation will exist even if the EC exists or not”. But Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi said, “We have not gone through the letter written by the EC to the President. We will get back to you after we go through it.”
“Ask Salman,” was the pithy remark of a senior Congress leader when reached for comments on the poll authority’s unprecedented step against the law minister.
Mr Khurshid has not reacted yet.