In a letter to Vajpayee, she virtually charged him with adopting double standards, and cited Union ministers Buta Singh, Ramakrishna Hegde and Ram Jethmalani as the ones who were being allowed to continue in the ministry despite ongoing proceedings against them.

Recalling the `swiftness' with which the prime minister accepted Muthiah's resignation, she said: "(It) indicated that you earnestly desired to maintain a clean image of the government. But it is rather strange and unfortunate that there has been a failure on your part in adopting the same set of principles with regard to persons who are similarly placed, if not in a worse position thanMuthiah."

She said if the prime minister was of the view that "accusations cannot take the place of proof and should not be the basis to oust ministers from their positions, then it is legitimate that the said principle is extended and applied to Muthiah also by reinducting him in the cabinet forthwith."

The demand was contained in a letter she wrote to prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, hours after the prime minister told newsmen that he was awaiting a letter from Jayalalitha on her demand and would not like to react on the basis of press reports. With regard to communications minister Buta Singh, Jayalalitha said the fact that he had been chargesheeted and charges had been framed against him in the JMM MPs bribery case was "a matter of universal knowledge" and could, therefore, be taken as being known to the prime minister too.

Moreover, a Supreme Court Constitution bench had delivered a significant judgement in the bribery case on Friday and had ruled clearly that a trial must proceed against ButaSingh.

"If the ideals referred to above had weighed with you in having Muthiah dropped from the Union cabinet, I am at a loss to understand how Singh could be allowed to continue to function as a Union minister, especially after the judgement of the Supreme Court," she said. The people of the country, particularly, members of the AIADMK, a partner in the coalition, would be well within their rights to demand that the same yardstick be applied for Muthiah and Buta Singh, she said.

On commerce minister Hegde, she said he had been found guilty by the Kuldip Singh commission of allegedly misusing his office as Karnataka chief minister in a land scam, and in a Rs 2.50 crore corruption case by the Karnataka corps of detectives.

Union cabinet approval had been reportedly given to the CBI in 1996 to file an FIR against Hedge and to move a special court for issuance of a letter rogatory to Germany, she alleged. Placing on record "certain facts for immediate action", she said the fact that a case had beenregistered against Muthiah (who quit as surface transport minister) at the instance of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu for alleged acquisition of assets disproportionate to his known income was "well within the knowledge of everyone including the prime minister".

Since accusations could not take the place of proof, Muthiah was inducted into the cabinet, just as in the case of a few other members, notwithstanding the fact that accusations against them were also pending at similar levels, if not at more advanced levels, she said.

Recalling that in deference to her request, Muthiah had tendered his resignation the very next morning after the court framed charges against him, she told Vajpayee that he had received the resignation with alacrity and forwarded it within a few minutes to the president and was accepted the same day.

Regarding urban development minister Jethmalani, she alleged that he had reportedly made "certain admissions under oath before a metropolitan magistrate court in Mumbai with regardto illegal receipt of $200,000 while (he was) abroad, which amounted to violation of Fera".

It was rather shocking and surprising that the prime minister should allow Jethmalani to continue, while relieving Muthiah whose case, she said, was "of far lesser gravity", and had been foisted against him due to "political vendetta".

She claimed that there were also several other allegations against some more members of the cabinet, and Vajpayee should be aware of these, as some MPs had brought them to his notice.

She, however, did not mention Union ministers L K Advani, and other BJP leaders who have been chargesheeted in the Ayodhya demolition case.Having regard to these facts, it would be in the fitness of things that a `uniform policy/standard' was adopted and those ministers involved in criminal cases be requested to submit their resignation forthwith, she said.

If they did not step down, they should be dropped.

Buta meets Vajpayee
Communications minister Buta Singh, an accused in the JMMMPs bribery case, met prime minister AB Vajpayee in the Capital on Saturday."I have discussed only departmental matters during my brief meeting with prime minister," Singh said.

Singh's meeting with Vajpayee assumes significance in the wake of Supreme Court's directive on Friday for proceeding in the prosecution against him and others including former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao in the case. Earlier in the day, speaking at a defence investiture function at Rashtrapati Bhawan, Vajpayee said the government would study the full judgement of the Supreme Court before taking a decision.