Issue of FIR against Jaswant may figure at BJP Parliamentary Board

Jaipur, Nov 13 (UNI) The registration of an FIR under the NDPS Act against Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh and nine other Rajasthan BJP ''dissident'' leaders is likely to figure at the BJP Parliamentary Board's meeting in New Delhi tomorrow.

A BJP state office bearer told UNI here today that Parliamentary Board meeting was being convened basically to discuss the party strategy for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.

''However, since the Winter Session of Parliament is beginning from November 15, the reported Opium controversy against Mr Singh and nine others may figure at the meeting for chalking out a strategy to face appropriately possible 'attack' in the house, by the ruling UPA over this issue,'' he said.

The FIR has been lodged against Mr Singh, Rajasthan Education Minister Ghanshyam Tiwari, Welfare Minister Madan Dilwar, former Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's son-in-law and Industries Minister Narpat Singh Rajvi, Government Chief Whip Mahavir Prasad Jain, sitting MP and BJP national Vice-President Kailash Meghwal, former BJP state Presidents and sitting MPs Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi and Raghubir Singh Kaushal and sitting MLAs Shankar Singh Rajpurohit and Jogeshwar Garg for alleged violation of the NDPS Act during a function held at Mr Singh's native village Jasol in Barmer district recently.

The FIR against these leaders has been lodged on the directives of the Special NDPS Court on a complaint from O P Bishnoi of Jodhpur.

The complainant had alleged that the leaders had violated the NDPS Act, 1985 by serving and/or tasting ''opium'' during a socio-religious ceremony organised by Mr Singh at his native village Jasol in Barmer district recently.

The leaders allegedly tasted the ''opium'', the complainant had stated.

UNI