Scrap National Advisory Council, demands Vajpayee

New Delhi, May 10: National Democratice Alliance (NDA) chairman and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today demanded scrapping of the National Advisory Council, from whose chairmanship Congress President Sonia Gandhi resigned following the office of profit controversy.

In an informal interaction with reporters in the precincts of Parliament, the former Prime Minister said his party had demanded the dismantling of the NAC, a post given up by Ms Gandhi after the debate on the office of profit issue gained momentum.

She also quit her Lok Sabha membership from Rae Bareli and is contesting again, resigning from all ''offices of profit'' she held, including the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Trust.

The comments of former Prime Minister assumes significance because the BJP has opposed any move to dilute the spirit of the Constitution on the office of profit and the government now seeks to enlarge the scope of exemption of certain posts from the purview of the office of profit.

Answering a question on finding a suitable substitute of General Secretary Pramod Mahajan who died recently, Mr Vajpayee who had termed Mahajan as 'Lakshman' said one has to wait and watch.

''He (Mahajan) had risen to his position because of his inherent qualities and it is not easy to find a replacement,'' he remarked.

UNI

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