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George Iype in Bangalore
The defence scandal that has rocked the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government has suddenly turned a meek Congress party president into a belligerent one.
But sensing that belligerence without parliamentary numbers and an effective Opposition strategy is pointless, Congress leaders said they will 'go step by step' to oust the Vajpayee government.
Congress insiders revealed that as a first step, the party, along with other opposition groups will press for the immediate removal of National Security Adviser and Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and Special Secretary N K Singh from the prime minister's office and an inquiry against Vajpayee's foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya.
Congress leaders claimed that the expose will considerably help the party boost its chances in the forthcoming assembly elections in five states -- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Pondicherry -- next month.
"Therefore, our attempt will be to keep alive the revelations for many weeks now so that the Vajpayee government will be forced to quit on the weight of its own contradictions," a senior Congress leader and strategist said.
He said when Parliament reconvenes on Monday, the main theme of the Congress will be to demand the resignation of Brajesh Mishra, N K Singh and Ranjan Bhattacharya from the PMO.
Senior Congress Working Committee member Gulam Nabi Azad said there was no reason why two sets of rules should apply to the players in the defence scandal.
"The tehelka.com tapes clearly reveal that Mishra, Singh and Bhattacharya have been running the Prime Minister's Office in crucial issues concerning the defence deals and national security. So Vajpayee should remove them from the PMO immediately," Azad told rediff.com.
Stating that a section of National Democratic Alliance partners themselves have called for the ouster of Mishra, Singha and Bhattacharya from the PMO, Azad predicted the 'break-up of the NDA in one week'. "The NDA is crumbling and it is the beginning of the end for the Vajpayee government," the senior Congress leader added.
Congress leaders feel now that Vajpayee is weakened by the loss of George Fernandes and Mamata Bannerjee - 'the shouting brigade in the government' -- a direct attack on key PMO officials will further embarrass and humble Vajpayee.
Bouyed by the political storm built up against the government, Congress leaders said it is 'fortunate for the party that the AICC session is being held in the week when the scandal broke out'. "Otherwise, it would have been a drab affair. The expose has instilled some energy and initiative into our party leadership," Satish Swaroop, a party functionary from Uttar Pradesh said.
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