NEW DELHI, 27 April 2005 — Former prime minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav accusing him of making “false allegations” against the BJP and RSS over the alleged attack on him in Gujarat.
Vajpayee told reporters after BJP parliamentary meeting that Home Minister Shivraj Patil did not make a statement in Parliament on Monday on the issue as there was “no ground or basis” for it and “there was no evidence” to support the charges against the Sangh Parivar.
“What is happening in the house is not proper and it should not happen. Both ruling party and the opposition should have some respect for parliamentary democracy,” Vajpayee said. “Was that accident not serious? Should the railway minister not have resigned on moral grounds?” asked Vajpayee.
Looking at Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Vajpayee said: “If you want a smooth conduct of the proceedings, the railway minister should not be there.” The Congress party-led government has rejected the opposition demand, arguing that only charges have been framed against the railway minister and that he has not been convicted.
Meanwhile, the car used by Lalu on his visit to Gujarat after last week’s train accident was brought to the forensic science laboratory here for analysis yesterday following his allegation of attacks. “We have brought the car for a detailed forensic analysis. I cannot comment further as investigations are on,” Vimal Rajvanshi, a police official said.
