Jaya flexes muscle again

CHENNAI, April 15: In a move that would embarrass the BJP and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha has demanded t...

CHENNAI, April 15: In a move that would embarrass the BJP and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha has demanded the resignation of those Union Ministers who have been charge-sheeted or have FIRs filed against them, failing which the PM should remove them from their posts. 8220;I intend writing to the Prime Minister in this regard,8221; she said.

The demand, which is bound to create ripples in the BJP-led alliance, was made at a press conference soon after her party8217;s executive council meeting at the AIADMK headquarters here today. Jayalalitha said it was only fair that if Sedapatti R Muthiah could resign following charges being framed against him, all the other Union Ministers who have charges against them should also quit their posts.

Muthiah had tendered his resignation as Union Minister for Surface Transport on April 8, soon after the special court in Chennai framed charges against him in the disproportionate assets case against him. Jayalalitha had then stated that she haddirected him to resign 8220;in keeping with the high standards of probity in public life.8221;

The AIADMK leader made the demand when it was brought to her notice that Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy had sought an explanation on how the Prime Minister could make Buta Singh, Ramakrishna Hegde, George Fernandes and Ram Jethmalani Union Ministers, when they were being investigated under various charges.

8220;There cannot be one set of rules for the AIADMK and another for other political parties. I intend writing to the Prime Minister,8221; she said.Defending her move recommending Muthiah8217;s name for a ministerial berth, Jayalalitha said the court had not filed charges against him then. 8220;Legally speaking, Muthiah is not guilty,8221; she said.

Whether she would recommend any more names for ministerial berths, Jayalalitha said, 8220;It is for the Prime Minister Vajpayee to decide how many more members should join the Cabinet.

As the AIADMK had already been given a berth, following Muthiah8217;s resignation, Isuggested the name of C Seenivasan the party8217;s Dindigul MP.8221;

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When it was brought to her notice that there were two cases against Seenivasan in the Padmanabhapuram Magistrate court in Kanyakumari for dishonouring cheques worth Rs 5.5 lakh, she said she had seen the report but had not had the time to 8220;check its veracity8221;. As for suggesting the names of AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP M S Niraikulathan and PMK MP N T Shanmugam, Jayalalitha said Vajpayee had promised to induct the two MPs during their earlier rounds of discussions.

Meanwhile, the Congress today came out in support of Jayalalitha8217;s demand that chargesheeted ministers in the Vajpayee Government should be dropped.Senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee, told reporters here today evening that that it was a 8220;time-honoured practice8221; that ministers immediately step down when they are chargesheeted by a government of which they are a part.

Govt mum on Jaya8217;s salvo; Central team in TN

The Government today evaded responding to the latestdemand from Jayalalitha.Prime Minister Vajpayee said at a function at the Vice President8217;s residence in the Capital this evening that he had neither seen Jayalalitha8217;s statement, nor had he received a letter from her regarding his Cabinet. Vajpayee8217;s evasive replies underline the Govt8217;s dilemma. Apart from Communications Minister Buta Singh, who faces charges in the JMM bribery case, virtually the entire top brass of BJP stands chargesheeted in the Ayodhya demolition case. The list includes Home Minister L K Advani and HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

The Central Government has dispatched a team of Union Home Ministry officials to make an on-the-spot assessment of the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu. The two-member team confirmed that the Inter Services Intelligence ISI of Pakistan had infiltrated into Tamil Nadu and that there is lot of evidence available of ISI8217;s complicity in problems in the State as well as other parts of the country. Ashok Kumar, who is heading the team however saidthat the State had brought the situation under control after the Coimbatore blasts.