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PM's credibility rests on Laloo, says Joshi - The Pioneer

Pioneer News Service ()
5 May 1997

Title : PM's credibility rests on Laloo, says Joshi
Author : Pioneer News Service
Publication : The Pioneer
Date : May 5, 1997

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Murli Manohar Joshi
said the way Prime Minister I K Gujral tackles Bihar Chief Minister
and Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav will serve as the "acid
test" of his commitment to value-based politics.

Mr Yadav's name figures in the list of accused prepared by the
Central Bureau or Investigation (CBI) in the Rs 950-crore Bihar
Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) seam.

Answering questions on a wide range of issues at a Press conference
here on Sunday, Dr Joshi said the people are keen to see whether Mr
Gujral sticks to his promise of providing a clean administration or
chooses to shield the Dal chief just to remain Prime Minister.

He described Mr Yadav's warning that he would create a crisis at
the Centre if asked to quit as "unfortunate" and said the Bihar
Chief Minister is preparing to wage a caste war to save his chair.

If Mr Yadav, who has become quite accustomed to threaten
politicians and CBI personnel, does not tender his resignation, the
President should dismiss him and order fresh polls in the State, Dr
Joshi added.

Commenting on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Kansi Ram's
statement that his party would not go into an alliance with the BJP
in the by-elections, Dr Joshi made it clear that the BSP-BJP
alliance is limited to Uttar Pradesh and that the power sharing
exercise is still in an experimental stage.

It is only after the initial one-year phase of the experiment, six
months under each party, that a decision on its future course can
be taken.

Dr Joshi said the success of the BJP-sponsored Bihar bandh has
shown that the people of the state are against Mr Yadav and his
"corrupt regime".

The fodder seam, he said, is just the tip of the iceberg of the
all-pervasive corruption that has been plaguing Bihar for many
years.

The state's law and order has collapsed completely, financial
irregularities are the rule of the day and, to make matters worse,
the ruling Janata Dal is a divided house, he added.

Dr Joshi said the BJP would continue its fight against corruption
and the party's national executive, scheduled to meet in Delhi on
May 7, would decide the future course of action.

He expressed grave concern about the food grains shortage in the
country, the power shortage which directly affects agricultural and
industrial output, and the fast spreading network of Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) in many parts of the
country. The weakness of the present Union Government will only
aggravate the crisis, he warned.

He also criticised the finance bill as "anti-Indian industry and
pro-foreign consumer goods" and said his party MPs, including
former Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha
Atal Behari Vajpayee, have suggested about 50 amendments in the
bill to make it more acceptable to the nation.

Dr Joshi feels that India should resist the imposition of the Super
301 clause by the US and stressed that both the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) rules and the Super 301 should not be imposed
simultaneously.

Asked whether it is becoming of MPs to keep on raising their own
salaries and other benefits in a poor country like India, Dr Joshi
said MPs in this country are the lowest paid public representatives
in the world, although they represent much bigger constituencies
compared to those in other countries.


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