Govt in no mood to persuade SG to withdraw resignation

New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) Government on Monday seemed to
be in no mood to persuade Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium
to stay on in the post which he quit and a final decision is
likely to be taken in the next "two to three days".
Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who met Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and discussed the issue, spoke to Subramanium
but did not press him for withdrawing the resignation, sources
said.
Significantly, Moily, who had asked Subramanium to
reconsider his decision on Saturday.
On his part, the sulking Solicitor General, who has
resigned following appointment of another advocate to
represent Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal in a case of PIL
against him, has also not shown signs of going back on his
decision.
"A decision will be taken in the next two-three days,"
Moily said when asked about the issue.
"He (Subramanium) is on our panel and we had hired him
(Nariman on July 9) for the limited purpose of appearing
before the SC on the affidavit filed against Sibal," the Law
Minister said.
Subramanium did not attend proceedings on behalf of the
government in the Supreme Court while Rohington Nariman
appeared for Sibal in the PIL case.
He sent his resignation letter to Moily this morning.
Sources said the government was unhappy that the SG had
made public his protest at a time when he was being persuaded
and that his grouse was being heard.

Sources in the Law Ministry said the issue of hiring
Rohington Nariman on 'special engagement' was "over" as the
Supreme Court has refrained from passing any order on a PIL
filed against Sibal, accusing him of reducing a penalty amount
to favour Anil Ambani-headed Reliance Telecom.
Moily, who was in Bangalore when Subramanium sent his
resignation to the Prime Minister, met the latter this morning
to discuss the controversy surrounding the issue.