A tweet welcoming the Prime Minister accepting responsibility for P.J. Thomas' appointment as the chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) triggered speculation that Sushma Swaraj differed from her party but she sought to clear the air by blaming it on 'constraints' of micro-blogging.
"The difference that newspapers have shown in my and Arun Jaitley's statement is that he asked for a statement from the Prime Minister in Parliament. The Prime Minister said himself that he will give a statement in Parliament," Sushma Swaraj told reporters.
On Friday, hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took responsibility for the appointment of Thomas that was quashed by the Supreme Court, Swaraj tweeted : "I appreciate the statement of the prime minister owning responsibility for the appointment of CVC.I think this is enough. Let matters rest at this and we move forward."
Explaining her remarks, Sushma Swaraj said: "On twitter there is this constraint that you have to write everything in 140 characters. So I didn't add it (Jaitley's demand) in twitter.
"There is no difference in the party or between me and Arun Jaitley. Because PM had already said that he will give a statement in parliament, I did not add it on tweet," she said.
Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said that the Prime Minister "ought to explain whether he was misled or did he mislead".
In Jammu, the prime minister said Friday: "I accept my responsibility." This happened a day after the Supreme Court described the appointment as illegal.