Advani indulged in criminal act, should have resigned-Left

NNew Delhi, Apr 12 (UNI) Taking umbrage at BJP senior leader L K Advani's "startling revelation" that he had differed with the decision of the NDA regime to release three terrorists in 1999, the Left parties today put the Leader of the Opposition in the dock saying he should have resigned if he was ''honest.'' " The NDA government's decision to release three terrorists, including JeM chief Masood Azhar, in exchange for hijacked IC-184 passengers in 1999 when he was Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister was not a small decision," the CPI(M) and the CPI said.

The Left parties also came down heavily on the BJP for its turning against the Indo-US nuclear deal terming the change as" mere hypocrisy" and " double standards." Mr Advani, who is currently on a month long 'Bharat Suraksha Yatra" also emphasised that," I had aired my views within the government and would not like to comment on the issue after so many years... Even the then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who took the three terrorists to Kandahar, was just implementing the Government's decision." Talking to UNI, CPI leaders- A B Bardhan and D Raja- said the Kandahar episode occurred when Mr Advani was not only the Home Minister but also the Deputy Prime Minister and a senior BJP leader." It was not a small decision taken by some bureaucrats." The CPI leaders said this was a major" political decision taken by the Cabinet".

" As per Mr Advani's assertion now, one thing becomes abundantly clear that the NDA regime was so casual, and callous about such an important decision," Mr Bardhan and Mr Raja said.

They said Mr Advani owed an explanation to the nation, why he allowed such an episode as he indulged in a " criminal activity like this." CPI(M) senior leader and Polit Bureau member M K Pandhe said if that was the case," why he did not resign at that time... if he had differed why he kept silent.. how the government could take such a major political decision without the concurrence of the Home Minister? " Mr Advani must share the blame.. may be he is pleasing the RSS with an intention to rouse the Hindutva agenda, even then he can not shun his responsibility," the CPI(M) leader said adding that it was the BJP which tilted the country's independent foreign policy towards the US.

Mr Pandhe claimed that the BJP-led NDA regime subjugated the nation's economic and the strategic and foreign policy interests to the dictates of the US." The NDA regime even tolerated the humiliation of its Defence Minister George Fernandes when he was frisked by the US authorities at the airport." Mr Bardhan and Mr Raja said the BJP was totally confused at this juncture and its slogan of Party with a difference stood totally exposed." It is already widely known the offsprings of the RSS- the BJP and others, speak with hundreds of voices. They go on repeating the lies with their belief that one day people would trust them, but forget that the BJP can befool the RSS and not the people of the country." Mr Pandhe said the BJP was never a principled party. It never evolved any socio-economic policies and programmes to benefit the poor, the backwards and the wretched.

" We don't understand how it has taken a U-turn on the Indo-US nuke pact when it not only followed and implemented the new economic liberalism, promoted by the US and blatantly moulded the country's foreign policy to serve the American interests," Mr Pandhe added.

It is reported that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has personally initiated a rethink in BJP policy on the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement with a decision now being taken to pressure the Manmohan Singh government to withdraw from the nuclear deal in this form.

UNI KSA RP HT1642