BJP to continue anti-Laloo campaign

NEW DELHI, May 5: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today asserted that it would continue its campaign against Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Pr...

NEW DELHI, May 5: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today asserted that it would continue its campaign against Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav until he is removed from office and President’s Rule imposed in the state.

Briefing newsmen here, party vice president K L Sharma, said that it was “inexplicable” as to how Home Minister Indrajit Gupta, claimed that there were no details available of the firing incident that took place when agitating BJP and Samta Party workers had called for a Bihar bandh on May 3 to demand Yadav’s resignation after the CBI said it would prosecute him in the fodder scam.

The fodder scam and the Indian Bank case were two major challenges before Prime Minister I K Gujral and it remains to be seen as to how he would deal with them.

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Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah asserted today that he would have resigned if tainted in a scam as a result of a CBI probe. “I would have submitted my resignation to the governor the first day itself but on the condition that if proved not guilty by the court, I will take my chair back,” Dr Abdullah, a United Front steering committee member, said. “Finally it is for him (Laloo) to decide. He is a Janata Dal leader and has the support of the people,” the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said at a meet-the-press programme here. He declined to spell out his stand on the issue as a steering committee member.

Dr Abdullah asserted that investigations in scams should continue unhindered and taken to their logical conclusion no matter who and which party the person belonged to.

Replying to questions, he said if the Congress again withdrew support, then the only recourse would be elections.

He disclosed that when Congress withdrew support to the Deve Gowda government on March 30, he had advocated general elections.