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Jaitley says Harin Pathak must step down

Onkar Singh & Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley has told Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that it would not be advisable for Minister of State for Defence Production Harin Pathak to continue in office following framing of charges against him and Gujarat Health Minister Ashok Bhatt in a case of rioting.

Pathak had met Vajpayee on November 8 soon after charges were framed against him and Bhatt in a case of rioting dating back to 1985. The two ministers later also met the Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani.

Pathak and Bhatt have been accused of instigating a mob leading to the lynching of Head Constable Laxman Desai on April 24, 1985 during an anti-quota agitation in Gujarat.

At a press conference Saturday, Pathak and Bhatt said they were innocent and were ready to stand trial. "We are not running away from the trial. But we have enough proof of our innocence," Pathak said.

Presence of Pyarelal Khandelwal, a senior vice-president of the BJP, at the press conference clearly showed that the two had the tacit support of the party. Khandelwal, however, refused to make any comment on the matter.

Pathak handed over a seven-page statement to the newspersons supported by newspaper cuttings.

Pathak said he would put his case before the prime minister and whatever decision he (the PM) takes, he would abide by it.

"As of now, I am not resigning because I feel that we have been victimised," he said.

The controversy, meanwhile, has given the Opposition, chiefly the Congress, a stick to beat the Union government with. Senior Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has already made it known that his party would raise the matter in the forthcoming session of Parliament.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist too has criticised the Vajpayee government on the issue, underscoring that it found it "shameful" that Pathak and Bhatt have chosen to continue in office.

The controversy was a high point in the anti-quota agitation of 1985 in Gujarat and had led to the downfall of the Madhavsinh Solanki government in Gujarat.

At that time, Pathak was a municipal corporator and Bhatt a member of the state legislative assembly.

The incident had sparked a revolt in the city constabulary.

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