DMK dilutes RJD package, Left firm

NEW DELHI, July 20: The Left parties today kept up their attack on Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, demanding his resignation for b...

NEW DELHI, July 20: The Left parties today kept up their attack on Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, demanding his resignation for being chargesheeted in the fodder scam, while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) made public its compromise formula on which it said a final decision would be taken at the United Front (UF) steering committee meeting on July 25.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi issued a statement in Chennai disclosing that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) could be kept out of the Front till Laloo was cleared of charges in the case. But the three Laloo-loyalists in the Gujral Government could continue, the statement said.

According to the formula, if the RJD “came forward to extend support to the Gujral Government on the lines of the Congress, then it could be accepted”.

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Karunanidhi said it was up to Laloo to resign or not on moral grounds following the filing of the charge-sheet against him. He pointed out that Chandradeo Prasad Verma had resigned from the Union Ministry when he was charge-sheeted in a case.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said it was decided that he and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet would discuss the formula and a decision would be taken at the July 25 meeting.

Karunanidhi’s statement keeps the RJD issue live, even as the UF almost buckled under pressure from the DMK, the Tamil Maanila Congress and even the Telugu Desam Party and decided to tackle the twin issues of the RJD’s entry into the UF and the continuance of the new party’s three Ministers in the Union Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the Left parties made it clear that there could be no compromise on the issue of corruption and reiterated their position that the RJD could not be admitted into the Front now.

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CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri told reporters in Hyderabad that the anti-corruption crusade was one of the “fundamental pillars” of the Front’s Common Minimum Programme (CMP).

Referring to the DMK’s stand on the entry of the RJD, he said, “Anything amounting to supporting Laloo Prasad Yadav goes against the stated policy of the Front.”

In a related move, Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary D Raja said the Left parties’ fight against corruption in Bihar had helped push the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) offensive behind.

The CPI leader also ridiculed Congress president Sitaram Kesri’s attack on Communists, clubbing them with communalists, saying the attack on the Left was the last resort of politicians without any ideological issues.