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Vajpayee rejects demand for accused ministers' resignation

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today rejected the Opposition's demand for the resignation of Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani and two other ministers accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case as "no change in the position of court cases has taken place" since they assumed office.

In a statement, he said, "The question as to who should be in the Council of Ministers is one of prime ministerial discretion and sense of political propriety."

Arguing that many circumstances are relevant to the prime minister's decision, he said that since no allegation of corruption or misuse of office was involved against them, "the demand that the ministers quit office or be barred from replying to certain questions is untenable". Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Minister of State for Tourism Uma Bharti are the other two ministers who were targets of the Opposition attack.

But the prime minister assured the House that the cases would be allowed to proceed without interference from the Centre or the Uttar Pradesh government. "I urge this House to await the judicial verdict."

Vajpayee averred that since he had assumed office in March 1998, neither he nor his government had ever interfered in the case, though the investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, was directly under him.

In an oblique reference to the demand for the deletion of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's name from the Bofors case chargesheet, he said that as had been indicated in another context, the government "holds that interference in a pending prosecution is impermissible in law".

Earlier, the issue had led to two adjournments of the House and proceedings continued only after the government promised at a meeting with the speaker that the prime minister would make a statement. Proceedings were stalled yesterday too over the issue.

The prime minister said that neither the Constitution nor the law disqualifies a minister from holding office merely because a chargesheet has been filed by police or formal charges have been framed by a court.

The Ayodhya cases could be classified into two categories, he said. The first is of cases relating to the title dispute. There are five such cases, two of which have remained pending for 49 years. The second is of the case arising out of the events of December 6, 1992. In this case, chargesheets were filed by the CBI against more than 50 persons, Vajpayee said.

Earlier, speaking on the issue, Uma Bharti said the "political" demand was aimed at weakening the country and creating turmoil. She made it clear that neither she nor the other two ministers had any lust for power.

But senior Opposition leaders reiterated their demand that the three Union ministers should resign on grounds of propriety because they have been accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

Raising the issue following an assurance earlier in the day that the prime minister would make a statement, the members of the Opposition also pointed out that the previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led government had made Madan Lal Khurana, Buta Singh and S R Muthiah resign after they were charge-sheeted.

They also pointed out that Vajpayee, who always talks of moral propriety, had himself apologised to the House on December 7, 1992, and said the guilty should be punished.

UNI

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