M A I N   N E W S

Congress nominee pulls out in favour of Jethmalani

New Delhi, April 19
Ending days of political flux, the Congress high command today directed party candidate Akhilesh Das to withdraw his nomination for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency in favour of an eminent jurist, Mr Ram Jethmalani, who came back to the fray against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The AICC, which had earlier made Mr Das file his nomination papers as a “contingency measure” after Mr Jethmalani became uncertain for the battle following his son’s ailment, decided that the party must honour its words to put weight behind the veteran jurist, once he reassured his availability as an Independent candidate against the Prime Minister.

“Mr Das has withdrawn on the directive of the party, which will stand by its commitment to support Mr Jethmalani, who has come back from London and assured his willingness to contest,’’ AICC spokesperson Anand Sharma said. — UNI

Jethmalani to send PM 10 posers daily
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19
Prominent lawyer Ram Jethmalani today gave enough indications that he was going to become a “headache” to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he vowed to contest against him from Lucknow and indicated that he would begin putting 10 questions every day to Mr Vajpayee.

Mr Vajpayee had used the word “headache” at a rally in Gandhinagar last week, a day before Mr Jethmalani declared his intent not to withdraw from the fray. Mr Vajpayee had described Gandhinagar, from where his deputy Mr L.K. Advani is seeking re-election, as “the safest” constituency for the party and had said: “Now, you can understand my headache.”

Mr Jethmalani told The Tribune that he would soon start shooting 10 questions every day to Mr Vajpayee, something which he did against a former Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi, in the wake of the Bofors controversy.

A sample of what is in store for Mr Vajpayee was unveiled by Mr Jethmalani when he raked up such issues as the Vajpayee government’s wooing of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, allowing Mr Narendra Modi to continue as Gujarat Chief Minister in the aftermath of riots, and the government’s handling of the Tehelka Commission.

Mr Jethmalani said he had told Mr Vajpayee not to have any alliance with Ms Jayalalithaa because he felt that she had been “judicially condemned” by the Supreme Court even though the court had exonerated her on a “technical ground”.

Mr Jethmalani in a way linked the Narendra Modi affair to the issue of national unity and said Mr Vajpayee was not justified in allowing the “tainted” Mr Modi to continue as Chief Minister even after the communal riots.

The former Law Minister did not even spare Law Minister Arun Jaitley in this context when he said: “He is Mr Modi’s friend and has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat... if the Minister for Justice mixes with him (Mr Modi), can there be justice?”

Mr Jethmalani gave vent to his anger over the Vajpayee government’s appointment of the Tehelka Commission of inquiry. He said he had spoken to Mr Vajpayee “some time ago” and told him to “dissolve the Tehelka Commission, which is against the liberty of the Press that I have been fighting for.” 

Jethmalani will lose face, says BJP
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19
Asserting that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will win the election from Lucknow with a big margin, the BJP today said neither the recent "saree distribution tragedy" nor Mr Ram Jethmalani's decision to contest would have any impact on the poll outcome.

"Mr Jethmalani will not only lose the elections but also his credibility," BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley said here.

"Mr Vajpayee will win the elections comfortably and with a big margin," he said, adding the saree distribution tragedy also would have no adverse impact on the party's prospects because it was held without the knowledge or consent of the BJP.

Speaking about the prospects of the BJP in Karnataka, where Mr Jaitely is the special emissary of the party for the polls, he said: "Karnataka will be the gateway for the party to the South."

Mr Jaitley, however, avoided saying anything on Mr Vajpayee's comments at Nagpur that he was tired of coalition politics, but said the BJP would opt for coalition politics even if the party were to win majority on its own.