New Delhi, June 8
Even as the Opposition parties, including the Congress, have demanded the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and others who have been chargesheeted by the CBI in the Ayodhya case, the BJP today ruled out their resignation.
Describing the Congress demand for the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and others as “irresponsible”, BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu ruled out the resignation of any minister in this context.
“There is no question of any minister resigning. There is no rationale for it and there is no question of using government influence for it. If at all the government wanted to interfere in the process of investigation of the rule of law, it would have withdrawn the cases, like it was done during the Indira Gandhi regime,” he said.
Referring to the statement of five kar sevaks that they had pulled down the disputed structure at Ayodhya at Mr Advani’s instigation, Mr Naidu said, “The people who have made these allegations have no basis, they have no information with them and if they had any information, they should have placed it before the Liberhan Commission. They have not done it.”
Demanding the resignation of Mr Advani and other ministers in view of the testimony given by the kar sevaks in the Special Court, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said the testimony of the kar sevaks had only “confirmed what was already known since 1992.”
“The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister must clarify whether they subscribe to moral standards in public life or not and, if so, the Prime Minister musk ask for Mr Advani’s resignation to uphold the prestige of India’s Constitution,” Mr Sharma said.
“The kar sevaks’ claim was once again an incontrovertible confirmation that these leaders had not only conspired along with the VHP and the Bajrang Dal but also instigated the mob at Ayodhya which has been specified in the FIR filed soon after the demolition of the Babri masjid at Ayodhya,” the Congress spokesperson said.
The CPM in a statement here said the testimony had confirmed once again that Mr Advani and others were the main instigators that led to the demotion of the masjid on December 6, 1992.
“The CPM had last week, when the CBI filed a fresh supplementary charge sheet against Mr Advani and eight others, demanded that they immediately demit office. Even a remote consideration of political morality would warrant that these Cabinet ministers must immediately resign. This is particularly so for Mr Advani who holds the Home portfolio, a ministry which presides over these investigations,” the statement said.
“Failing to do so will only confirm the fact that the RSS/BJP is utilising its control over the state apparatus to manipulate the case and protect the guilty,” it added.
The Nationalist Congress Party said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ought to call for the resignation of his two Cabinet colleagues to uphold the principles of parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.
