In a letter to Vajpayee, on October 31, Chief Minister J H Patel has claimed that President K R Narayanan has already approved the Mysore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Bill, 1998, sent to the Centre three months ago. And that because of Jethmalani's intervention, the Bill is being tossed back and forth between the Home and Law ministries.

The Bill has nothing to do with the Urban Development Ministry but Jethmalani sent a note to the Home Ministry saying that it had to be looked into carefully by the Law Ministry. His argument: Prima facie, the proposed legislation was not constitutionally valid as the subject matter was not covered by entries either in the State or Concurrent lists.

``Since it is covered by the Central list, only the Central Government has the powers totake over the palace. Moreover, the impropriety of it all is that it violates the implicit understanding that private properties of royal families would not be touched,'' Jethmalani told The Indian Express.

But insinuations have been made that Jethmalani has stalled the Bill since he has advised the scion of the Wodeyar family, Srikantadatta Wodeyar, in legal matters in the past.

Wodeyar, who has been twice MP -- once as a member of the Congress and then of the BJP -- has been mired in problems relating to his properties.

There is also speculation that a private company in the state had set its eyes on the palace. But Jethmalani denies these charges: ``I have had nothing to do with the prince.'' He had intervened in the capacity of his being a Cabinet minister, he said.

The Bill seeks to take over the magnificent palace and its environs and allot an alternative piece of land for Wodeyar.

He has also been given the option of residing in a part of the palace. The Home Ministry forwarded the Billafter examination by the Ministry of Law and Justice and other departments concerned to the President for assent. Patel had met Narayanan to stress the need for assent to the Bill without delay.

Subsequently, the state government learnt that the President had given his assent but a formal communication is yet to be received from the Home Ministry.

During one of his recent visits to the Capital, Patel met Vajpayee and handed over a letter complaining that it was on the basis of Jethmalani's note that the Home Ministry referred the Bill again to the Law Ministry which in turn had sought the views of the Attorney General. Though the Attorney General cleared the Bill, it is still pending approval by the Law Ministry.

``As the Bill has already been cleared by His Excellency, the President of India, I would once again request you to kindly issue necessary directions to the Union Law Ministry and Home Ministry to clear the Bill.