The Hindu : Front Page : Lalu need not resign, says Bhardwaj

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Tuesday, Apr 26, 2005

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Lalu need not resign, says Bhardwaj

Special Correspondent

RJD's strong reaction worked

NEW DELHI: The Manmohan Singh Government and the Congress leadership have no intention of accommodating the Opposition's demand for the Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad's resignation in the wake of the framing of charges against him in a Ranchi court on Monday in a fodder scam case.

The Union Law Minister, Hansraj Bhardwaj, told reporters that "just because charges have been framed against him [Lalu Prasad], there is no justification for his dismissal."

Mr. Bhardwaj said that "when somebody becomes an MP, he is qualified for becoming a minister. A minister can be disqualified only when he incurs some disqualification. Just because of the framing of charges, one does not become eligible for disqualification. Disqualification is post-conviction."

When the reports of the "framing of charges" came in the morning, the first thought was to try to persuade Mr. Prasad to step down. But the Rashtriya Janata Dal's response was strong and the party suggested that if Mr. Prasad's resignation was insisted upon then all the RJD Ministers would resign from the Manmohan Singh Government, though the party would continue to support the Government from the outside.

The situation was reviewed at a meeting of the senior party leaders, presided over by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. The consensus was that the party could not be seen as doing anything that would provide aid and comfort to Mr. Prasad's adversaries in Bihar. The judgment was that in any case the National Democratic Alliance Government had set a precedent when it rejected the demands for the resignation of indicted Ministers.

The Congress leadership also took note of the Bharatiya Janata Party/ NDA strategy of disrupting the functioning of parliamentary institutions. It was decided that the Opposition should not be allowed to walk away with its "disruptionist agenda." Ms. Gandhi has constituted a high-power "parliamentary affairs committee" that is ideally expected to meet everyday before Parliament begins its business.

The PAC would finesse tactical responses to the expected and anticipated moves from the Opposition benches.

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