BJP upholds JMM case to hammer Cong 6 months before polls in 5 states

BJP upholds JMM case to hammer Cong 6 months before polls in 5 states
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, OCT 2: With Assembly elections to five states merely six months away, the BJP has decided to take advantage of the court verdict in the JMM bribery case by terming it as indictment of not only the former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, but the entire Congress party.

``The Congress might try to disown or distance itself from Rao to salvage some of its lost moral ground. However, the judgement convicts not merely him, but the entire party and its culture of resorting to every corrupt means to cling to power,'' BJP president Bangaru Laxman said, in his opening remarks at the party's one-day national executive, adding, ``The country should not lose this crucial import of the judgement.''

It is not Rao's conviction as an individual but of what he did as an individual at the behest of his party to save his Government, BJP vice-president Jana Krishnamurthy told reporters later.

In his concluding remarks, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called for better coordination between the Government and the party, saying that his doors were open for suggestions from any quarters.

He also sought to dispel the notion that Bangaru was his man. The new president was elected after due deliberations by the entire organisation. It was a joint decision of the party and not his own, Vajpayee is believed to have said at the meeting.

The party decided to launch a week-long programme from October 14, with rallies, meetings and seminars at state-level to educate the people about the Government's achievements in the past one year.

This would also help the party gear up for elections in five states -- Assam, Kerala, Pondicherry, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu -- due in March, next year. Besides, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal would also elect their legislators later next year.

Laxman called on the party cadreS to follow the Nagpur message to expand party's base among the minorities, Dalits, Adivasis, and other backward classes. He said the message, which had been well received by people all over the country, had generated panic among the Congress and the Communist parties.

Addressing the meeting, Home Minister L K Advani said the message of the Nagpur conclave was not new. The party had taken the decision to widen its base by winning over the ``untouched sections'' in the 1996 Bhopal session too. He said the Government had assured the people to provide a ``riot-free, scam-free system and security'' and it had succeeded in its efforts in the past two years. Despite Kargil and Amarnath massacre, the Government had shown its resolve to fight terrorism with a heavy hand.