New Delhi, July 28: Much as Jaswant Singh “regrets” being at the centre of the “mole” controversy, he clearly does not mind fuelling it further.

A day after confessing that he was actually sorry he wrote A Call To Honour ? In Service of Emergent India, Jaswant defended withholding information on the alleged CIA spy in P.V. Narasimha Rao’s office.

He said the Rao regime could not have been unaware of the “mole”, indirectly defending his decision not to act on the information when the NDA came to power. “Government had the information because it was the government that was leaking (nuclear secrets).”

The BJP decided to go on the offensive, slamming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for denying Jaswant an appointment. “The PM is nervous. Why else would he refuse an appointment to a former foreign minister who wants to confide in him?” asked party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

He added that Jaswant had sought a meeting with the Prime Minister “several times” since he dared him to reveal the identity of the “mole”.

“And now they are telling us that we should have reported the matter. This is an absurd charge. They are the ruling party, they can direct any investigating agency to conduct an investigation. As a party in Opposition, how can we conduct a probe?” he asked.

The Prime Minister, however, is unlikely to respond to Jaswant’s overtures. Official sources said when he first called up Manmohan’s office last Tuesday, the BJP leader was told that since he had chosen to speak through the media, he could as well disclose the name of the “mole” to the media.

Congress sources cautioned the Prime Minister and his senior cabinet colleagues against entertaining Jaswant. “It almost seems like a trap he’s laying for the PM. If the PM does meet him, then he would absolve himself of all responsibility in this matter and declare that since the PM has the so-called relevant information, the ball is in his court,” a source said.

Asked why the Prime Minister had not met Jaswant, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singvi said: “He has better things to do than respond to such requests.” Later, he added: “It is for the PM to decide when to give an appointment.”

More revelations about the “mole” started spilling out with a magazine publishing the three-page letter written by a US diplomat to a senator, which forms the basis of Jaswant’s allegation. It says the “mole” was tasked to influence the then government against conducting a nuclear test.

“He (the spy) was very concerned that he might not win this battle, but he did not want me to share this information with anyone at the time. He feared the consequences of a leak and hoped that PM... would decide to delay a decision, something for which he has a well-deserved reputation.”

The former foreign minister has partly quoted the letter in his book.