Marandi has resigned from BJP as well as LS: Weekly

New Delhi, May 17 (UNI) Notwithstanding the studied silence of the BJP on its defiant national Vice President and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi quitting primary membership, the lone party MP from the state has resigned from the Lok Sabha too, a Delhi-based Hindi weekly claimed.

The weekly, Outlook Saptahik, which hits the stands tomorrow, published a copy of Mr Marandi's letter dated May 15 said this had been the topic of discussion among the top BJP leadership which met at the residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today.

BJP President Rajnath Singh, Leaders of Opposition L K Advani and Jaswant Singh attended the meeting and party general secretary Sanjay Joshi, who made a vain bid to placate Mr Marandi, briefed the leadership about the latest political situation.

The party however has been maintaining that there was no such letter from Mr Marandi.

Officially very little is forthcoming, but the BJP President has asked former Rajya Sabha MP Devidas Apte to hold discussions with Mr Marandi who is in his hometown of Giridih.

''He can't be reached either through mobile phone or the landline so we are rushing our leaders from Ranchi to talk to Mr Marandi and make him retract from his present stand,'' informed BJP sources said.

''We (BJP) are prepared to overlook his protest against the Arjun Munda government as a price for buying peace and Mr Apte will go over to Mr Marandi if necessary,'' the sources added.

They also denied that a three-member committee had been formed to find a solution to the issue.

The magazine claimed that Mr Marandi did not just attack the Arjun Munda government but also the BJP national leadership for encouraging people for ''selfish'' reasons. Last year he had written to the then President L K Advani questioning the ''imposition'' of UP politicians on Jharkhand BJP affairs, ignoring the local leadership, caste equations and regional aspirations.

He had alleged that the Jharkhand government was ''soft'' on terrorists and said that despite detailed information about these activities, the Central leadership did not intervene.

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