Why Swamy Toned Down His Attack on Arvind Subramanian

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy toned down his attack on Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian possibly after party leaders had cracked the whip, sources said Thursday.

Party sources said BJP president Amit Shah asked the newly-inducted Rajya Sabha MP to hold his fire against the CEA. It is also likely that senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari persuaded Swamy not to embarass the government.

The BJP MP on Thursday tweeted he will "suspend" his demand for sacking the CEA if the government considers him patriotic despite his attempts in the past of trying to twist India's arm.

A day after the government came out in strong defence of CEA Arvind Subramanian in the face of his attack, Swamy tweeted, "If an Indian?, held patriotic, can advise a foreign nation where he works, to twist India's arm, is to be forgiven, then I suspend my demand".

It's also likely he was told that India's entry to the NSG club is more important than the BJP's internal battles. The government didn't want him to accuse the US of arm-twisting tactics when Washington was actively backing India's entry in the exclusive nuclear club.

Swamy had caused a flutter when he sought Subramanian's sacking for allegedly taking anti-India stance when he was an IMF economist in Washington prior to joining the Finance Ministry.

"AS (Arvind Subramanian) to US Cong: "US initiatives by discriminating against India companies and exporters will exert pressure on India to open up" AS 13/3/13!," Swamy had tweeted.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley debunked Swamy's call for sacking Subramanian saying "Government has full confidence in CEA. His advice to government from time to time has been of great value".

Subramanian was appointed CEA by the BJP government in October 2014 after his predecessor Raghuram Rajan moved to the RBI as Governor in September 2013.

"If BJP Union govt says that we know all about AS but still he is an asset, then I will suspend my demand and wait for events to prove truth," Swamy tweeted on Thursday.