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This is an archive article published on May 13, 1999

Jaspal letter8217; has Keshubhai upset

GANDHINAGAR, May 12: Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and the party organisation have not taken kindly to Food and Civil Supplies Minister ...

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GANDHINAGAR, May 12: Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and the party organisation have not taken kindly to Food and Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh leaking to the press his letter to Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister S S Barnala. Singh had protested against the release of defaulters booked by the State Government under the Prevention of Black Marketing Act.

Patel made it clear that a serious view was being taken of the quot;leakquot; and that quot;appropriate action will be taken against Singh at an appropriate timequot;. However, he gave a clean chit to Barnala for granting reprieve to the seven accused.

He said, quot;I don8217;t mind Singh writing to Barnala but it is wrong on his part to leak his letter to the pressquot;. Asked if he would drop Singh from the Cabinet, the Chief Minister said, quot;Appropriate action will be taken against Singh at an appropriate timequot;.

In a separate press briefing in Ahmedabad, BJP State unit president Rajendrasinh Rana too expressed strong views on the leak, saying it was a serious matter to leak correspondence between the State and the Union governments which called for strict disciplinary action. 8220;We will not tolerate any such act of indiscipline,8221; he said, but declined to divulge what action was going to be taken.

This is a matter to be decided by the government and not the party, he said. Rana said it was not necessary for the Centre to consult the State Government before overturning such detention orders. Rana agreed that such acts had the potential of bringing down the credibility of the Government in the eyes of the people.

 

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