M A I N   N E W S

Vajpayee says no to resignation
Satish Misra and Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 19
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is understood to have rejected Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi’s resignation from the Council of Ministers.

Dr Joshi, who submitted his resignation after the Rae Bareli special court verdict this afternoon, was asked by Mr Vajpayee to continue in office.

The minister’s resignation letter was faxed to the Prime Minister to Turkey, where he was on an official visit. Mr Vajpayee has since left Istanbul for New York to participate in the 58th session of the UN General Assembly.

Since Dr Joshi is still insisting to quit the government, the Prime Minister will speak to him later tonight to convince him of the political futility of the resignation, sources said.

Mr Vajpayee will try to impress upon Dr Joshi that the need of the hour is unity in the party as his resignation will send wrong signals to party cadres and the electorate.

Dr Joshi’s move yesterday was not only aimed at his old political rival, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani, but also to emerge strong in the party.

Since in Dr Joshi’s perception, Mr Advani’s grip over the party is increasing every passing day, Dr Joshi is keen to become party president again.

The tussle over control over the party has assumed new dimensions.

With a view to counter Dr Joshi’s strategy, the Advani camp had moved swiftly by contacting Mr Vajpayee in Turkey.

Though BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu said there was no need for Dr Joshi to resign from the government with the old argument that it was a case of “political persecution”, the minister announced his resignation, sticking to his stand.

Earlier in the day, a brief meeting was held at the residence of Mr Advani, which was attended, among others, by Mr Naidu, Mr Pramod Mahajan and RSS joint general secretary Madandas Devi. The meeting had been called to firm up the BJP’s as well as the Sangh Parivar’s strategy in view of the impending verdict of the Rae Bareli court.

During the meeting, Mr Advani first and then Mr Naidu spoke with Mr Vajpayee, who was then in Istanbul, and briefed him about the impending verdict.

The possible impact of the court verdict on the country’s politics and the party’s electoral fortunes in the coming Assembly elections were also assessed at the meeting.