Apologise or face action, asserts Bali

Shimla, Mar 9 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Transport and Tourism Minister G S Bali today asserted that the BJP should either apologise for levelling false corruption charges against him or face the consequences for it.

Participating in the debate on general budget proposals for 2007-08 in the Vidhan Sabha, he said since the BJP had tarnished his image by leveling false allegations of corruption against him, they should either apologise or face action.

Mr Bali said the opposition was free to bring certain issues to the notice of the government and the public but it had no right to defame ministers the without substantiating their charges.

He was referring to charges of corruption leveled against him in both tourism and transport departments in the BJP's charge sheet submitted to Governor V S Kokje on Tuesday.

Refuting charges of corruption against him, he read a few excerpts from a letter by three legislators and four ministers, who had resigned from the BJP government, to chief minister P K Dhumal and leveled serious charges of corruption against its own government.

The Transport and Tourism Minister said following the letter the then PWD minister, Mahinder Singh, was made to resign from the government.

The same person was heading the party's committee on drafting a charge sheet against the Congress ministers, he said, adding that the people neck deep in corruption had no moral right to point fingers at others.

Referring to the opposition's charge that widespread corruption had taken place within the tourism department, he said for the first time since its inception, the department had earned a profit of Rs seven crore.

UNI