Vajpayee speaks up: Charges against NDA, UPA ministers incomparable

Former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee today said the cases against NDA ministers could not be equated with those pending against ministers in the Manmohan Singh Government.‘‘These (cases against NDA ministers) are of a different nature. You can not use the same yardstick to assess them.’’ He said a person booked for violating section 144 of the IPC, which is a political crime, cannot be bracketed with other criminals.

The former PM dismissed Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav’s defence using his speeches defending colleagues L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati in the Babri Masjid demolition case. ‘‘I had made the statement in a different context. You can not have the same gauge for all issues.’’