PM drops a hint for Laloo, asks Verma out

Even though it took almost 72 hours and the Prime Minister’s intervention to force Verma to tender his resignation, the news was greeted by a sigh of relief among the constituents of the United Front Government. “It is an indication of the shape of things to come,” exulted a senior Janata Dal leader, hinting that the Bihar Chief Minister too may be on the way out, a prospect not shared by many.

Verma has been camping in Patna since Tuesday, the day Bihar Governor A R Kidwai accorded sanction to the CBI to prosecute him and several other leaders, including Laloo, in the fodder scam.

“I have faxed my resignation letter to the Prime Minister in deference to his wishes,” Verma told reporters in the Bihar capital after meeting the Bihar Chief Minister who too advised him to quit.

“Even though I am not guilty, I tendered my resignation in the honour of moral values in public life,” he boasted, adding “I have full faith in the judiciary and will fight the case in the court.”

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister I K Gujral formally directed Verma to resign from the Union Council of Ministers. A letter seeking his resignation was faxed this morning to him through the Bihar Chief Secretary. But Gujral’s decisive, if delayed, scalping of Verma is unlikely to carry the punch it is intended to, with Laloo continuing to dig his heels in and denying to quit. Sources in the UF do not expect the Bihar Chief Minister to suddenly have a change of heart. This has prompted fears that the issue might be raked up in the next UF steering committee.

Laloo’s continued intransigence is giving jitters to the Janata Dal as well as other constituents of the UF. There were reports that several UF leaders had decided to call for Laloo’s ouster in the next steering committee meeting.

Kidwai obliges