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Journalism of Courage
A day after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee spoke of a succession plan, the Congress today asked if his successor would be Gujarat CM Narendra Modi even as the BJP declared that only Vajpayee would lead the NDA government for the next five years.
Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said: ‘‘In the first place, why is it necessary for a man seeking mandate from the people for the next five years to talk of his successor?’’
‘‘Then, the BJP has been saying that after Vajpayee and Advani, the chance would go to the second generation. Our question is, whether the successor to Vajpayee is going to be Narendra Modi? The country deserves to know the answer,’’ he said.
CPI(M) also asked the PM to name his ‘‘successor’’, saying people had a right to know before they voted as to who would lead the Government and the NDA in his absence.
Asked to comment on this, Union Law Minister and BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley said: ‘‘As far as the BJP is concerned, only Vajpayee will lead the government for the next five years.’’ He, instead, took on the Opposition for having no common ideology.
On Congress giving tickets to Sajjan Singh and Jagdish Tytler for LS polls, Jaitley said even though they have been acquitted by a lower court, the ‘‘Sikh society believes they had a key role in the 1984 riots’’. He said Congress has already given a Rajya Sabha berth to Rangnath Mishra, who probed the riots, and an election ticket to the lawyer who defended Tytler and Singh. This, Jaitley said, calls for an introspection by the Congress.
