145;Jaswant hasn146;t named mole146;

Manmohan Singh has also shot off a letter to Jaswant Singh, who had yesterday stated in Mumbai that he had revealed to the prime minister details of the mole. Taking Jaswant head on, the letter said: 8220;I have received your letter of 28th July regarding an informant in the PMO in the mid 90s8230; the alleged informant is not named nor is there any confirmation that the person was from the PMO.8221;

The prime minister also expressed surprise that although 8220;the material sent by you was in your possession when you were a member of the Union Council of Ministers and still you did not share it with my predecessor A B Vajpayee.8221;

Baru told The Indian Express that the details given to the PMO were the same as that carried by the latest issue of a magazine. The magazine had reproduced a letter written by a senior American diplomat based in India to a US Senator in 1995.

The PMO refuted the details given by Jaswant Singh, saying: 8220;The document which you sent is not an original and has no signature or letterhead.8221; Though not in so many words, it dared Jaswant Singh to go public with his charges on the mole. 8220;If you have any further information in this regard you may wish to disclose it to the public,8221; the statement said.

In a freewheeling discussion at The Indian Express on Friday, Jaswant Singh had hinted that he might rethink what he said about giving the details of the mole only to the PM if Manmohan Singh did not wish to meet him and let him convey the details.

BJP sources were not willing to comment. They only said Jaswant Singh8217;s office was looking into the matter.

The Left also pounced on the opportunity to take potshots at the NDA. 8220;It shows how the previous government functioned. It allowed a mole to go scot free for Jaswant Singh to write his memoirs,8221; said CPIM general-secretary Prakash Karat.