BJP charges state govt of 'blackmailing' Sorabjee

Hyderabad, Oct 17 (UNI) Defending former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee, whose remarks faulting the Andhra Pradesh Government in the Gouru Venkat Reddy clemency case has drawn flak from the ruling Congress, the BJP today accused the Government of resorting to 'cheap blackmailing tactics' by threatening to complain to President A P J Abdul Kalam.

Addressing a press conference here, BJP state unit President N Indrasena Reddy said the state cabinet's reported decision to petition the President amounted to complaining against the Supreme Court. The apex court had observed that clemency had been given to the Congress worker, husband of a Congress legislator on 'extraneous considerations'.

Asserting that Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy could not ''shirk his responsibility'' by reportedly stating that he had signed without fully reading the file, he argued that ''even if a section officer puts up a file, the highest person in the hierarchy is responsible for any decision taken by the Government''.

The Chief Minister had no option but to step down from office accepting the 'mistake', he charged, adding that the Kurnool Collector and the Superintendent of Police could not be made 'scapegoats'.

The Chief Minister and the State cabinet were not two separate entities and the cabinet was bound by whatever decision taken by the former, Party Spokesman S V Sesehagiri Rao said referring to some minister's claim that the clemency file did not come before the cabinet while finding fault with Mr Sorabjee's stand that it was the state cabinet and not the Governor who was at fault on the issue.

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