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BJP will bring PM under Lok Pal

The Bharatiya Janata Party will introduce the Lok Pal bill if elected to power, bringing the prime minister within the institution's purview.

This was revealed by former prime minister and senior BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Rounding off his first leg of electioneering in Karnataka, Vajpayee said the party was committed to curbing corruption in high places.

Addressing meetings in Bidar, Gulbarga, Hubli and Mangalore, Vajpayee lambasted the Congress and the United Front governments for dilly-dallying on the issue. The UF had in its poll manifesto promised to introduce the bill, he said.

Squarely blaming the Congress for forcing a mid-term poll, he said former prime minister H D Deve Gowda should unravel the mystery behind unseating him.

Vajpayee alleged that Deve Gowda was shown the door when he tried to investigate corruption cases against Congress president Sitaram Kesri and other leaders.

He reiterated that the BJP would protect the minorities's interests. ''We will treat them as citizens and not vote banks,'' he added. ''There have hardly been any communal riots in the BJP-ruled states.''

UNI

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