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Sack Buta, Hegde, Ram, Jaya tells PM

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham general secretary J Jayalalitha has served a notice on the one-month-old A B Vajpayee government. ''Either sack the chargesheeted ministers or reinduct my party leader Sedapati Muthiah who was forced to quit under similar circumstances,'' she told the prime minister.

The AIADMK leader shot off an angry missive to Prime Minister Vajpayee demanding the removal of Communications Minister Buta Singh, Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde and Urban Development Minister Ram Jethmalani, contending that criminal charges pending against them were at a more advanced stage than that against Muthiah.

She said it was 'strange and unfortunate' that Vajpayee had failed to adopt the same set of principles in respect of these ministers as was the case with her party nominee Muthiah whose resignation was swiftly accepted.

Muthiah, who was the surface transport minister, was forced to resign earlier this month following framing of charges against him in a Madras court.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party declined to comment on Jayalalitha's letter, reportedly sent to Vajpayee.

Senior party vice-president Sunder Singh Bhandari said it was for the government to respond to the letter. According to his information, the letter had not reached the prime minister.

He said there was no reason for the party to react to it. The letter, if any, was understood to have been sent to the prime minister.

UNI

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