Speaking to newsmen at the Meenambakkam airport immediately after his arrival from Bangalore tonight, Vajpayee said, "there is no need for any inquiry." Meanwhile in New Delhi, Fernandes has also refused to conduct an inquiry.

Fernandes told a private TV channel that working in Defence departments entailed discharge of certain decorum and responsibilities and "there is no need to pursue this issue any further". Coming out in strong defence of the dismissal of Admiral Bhagwat he said the move was not only "right but was also necessary".

Despite requesting the sacked admiral to correct himself, Fernandes said Bhagwat refused to listen. He was refusing to comply with government orders and even defying the Cabinet, the Defence Minister said.``Cabinet's decisions can be questioned only by Parliament and none else,'' he said in an interview to an English weekly.

``No government could succumb to an individual's pressure. The choice was between chaos and discipline. And we chose to enforce discipline," Fernandes said.

Asked why the issue could not be sorted out through a dialogue with Bhagwat, the Defence Minister said, ``But he (Bhagwat) wanted things to be done his own way. He was so defiant that a dialogue with him was almost impossible after a point of time.'' It was evident that if any government decision was not acceptable to him he would indulge in defiance.

He, however, confessed that the sacking ``wasn't a pleasant task.'' He said, ``I am feeling miserable and sad for this action. But there was no option. I spoke to Admiral Bhagwat on a number of occasions. I felt he was crossing all limits.''