JOIN USBJP MP Subramanian Swamy today sought to downplay his threat of "bloodbath" making it clear he did not intend the literal meaning of the word but only hinted at "chaos" which has not happened.
"I said I am the most disciplined person. If I was indisciplined, there would be what they called as bloodshed. Bloodshed did not mean blood spilling. Bloodshed means there will be chaos. And I said that because I am disciplined, nothing of that kind happened," he told a press conference here.
The BJP leader said his usage of the word was 'misunderstood' as everyone took the literal meaning of bloodshed.
Asked about the reported unhappiness of the BJP leadership over his attacks targeting those in the finance ministry, he said, "That is what your press is saying. I don't know."
Jaitley had counselled Swamy restraint in public course while attacking government officials who are unable to defend themselves because of office discipline.
The BJP had also distanced itself from Swamy's attacks on Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, in whose defence Jaitley spoke strongly. Yesterday, party sources said the leadership was upset over his public comments.
Replying to questions about his "shifting" from one party to another, Swamy said there was a time late Jayaprakash Narayan used to attack the RSS and then he came to the conclusion that the organisation has evolved to a point where without it democracy cannot be restored.
He also referred to Congress bringing down the Gujral government on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination issue and later tying up with the DMK.
"I can go on giving you names, parties which held positions and then after new material comes into existence, change it. Now neither the RSS minds what I said nor am I opposed to what the BJP said about me.
We nationalist forces had to come together because there was a danger" Swamy said alleging Sonia Gandhi had tried to decalred a state of emergency in 2011-12 "cooking up this Hindu terror basis"."
Under criticism over his "waiter" jibe, Swamy made tongue-in-cheek remarks today complimenting Jaitley for his "smart" looks and ticking off Robert Vadra, who spoke of the dignity of waiters.
He said he did not target anybody and what he only wanted was politicians should not look like waiters.
"The attire comment was not against anybody. I only said politicians should not look like waiters. There is nothing wrong in it (to wear such attires). I said they should not be mistaken...thats all," Swamy said in press conference here.
"I did not aim anybody. Actually Mr Jaitley looks very smart in the attire. He looks like an exception," he said.
Swamy also hit back at Robert Vadra, who criticised him for his "derogatory" remarks about waiters and termed them "classist", saying Vadra was pained as his mother was a waitress in a restaurant in England.
"I can sense Vadra's pain. Because, his mother was a waitress. She was a waitress in a small restaurant in England and so he feels offended that I made fun of waiters," he said adding that he did not make fun of waiters.
Earlier in the day, in a tweet Vadra took a dig at Swamy for his "derogatory" remarks about waiters and termed them "classist".
Swamy responded in kind to say Vadra should concentrate on "staying out of jail" instead of making political comments.
Vadra, who is Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, was commenting on Swamy's swipe at Jaitley in which he had said ministers who wear a coat and tie look like waiters and must be instructed to wear Indian clothes.
In a Facebook post, Vadra said, "Undermining waiters who work hard for a living; making condescending and derogatory remarks about them is deplorable and classist".