BJP defends Sidhu's renomination

New Delhi, Jan 23 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party today defended its decision to re-nominate cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar, noting he could have continued as an MP ''unashamedly'' like Sibu Soren.

Reacting to Congress' demand for a rethink over the issue, BJP Spokesman Arun Jaitley and senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu said Sidhu took a moral high ground by resigning in the wake of his conviction by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

''Since the apex court ruling rendered the conviction inoperative, the party is fielding him again,'' they said.

The two leaders said Mr Sidhu will go back to the voters of Amritsar and seek their approval for representing them in the Lok Sabha, in view of the Supreme Court ruling in a 19-year-old road rage case against him.

They said even the Supreme Court held that Sidhu need not have resigned from the lower House upon conviction as the law allowed him to continue as an MP merely by filing an appeal within three months, which would have enabled him avoiding a disqualification.

''Despite this he set a high standard in public life by resigning his seat and will now seek a fresh mandate,'' they added.

Party sources said had the Amritsar MP not been cleared by the apex court the party would have fielded Mr Arun Jaitley. Mr Jaitley In a big relief to the cricketer-turned-politician today, the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in the case holding that the incident was sudden and what happened was not premeditated. The deceased was unknown to the appellant and there was no motive for the commission of crime.

It said even the medical evidence suggested that the victim had a ''weak heart''. The incident had taken place in December 1988 and the cricketer entered Parliament much later in 2004 and therefore, it was not a case where he took advantage of his position as an MP in the commission of crime, the Court observed.

UNI