Sack Ministers with criminal antecedents, Rajnath told

LUCKNOW, AUG. 19. In what could be music to the Opposition ears, the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) constituent, Janata Dal (United), today alleged that some persons with criminal antecedents were members of the Rajnath Singh Ministry in Uttar Pradesh and should be removed forthwith.

Without naming anyone, the JD(U) president and Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Sharad Yadav, told reporters that ``some mafias are part of the Ministry which is tarnishing its image and they should be dropped to refurbish the image of the BJP-led coalition Government''.

``I have at times spoken to Chief Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh, and urged him rid himself of the shady characters in his Government,'' Mr. Yadav said. The NDA should be careful in nominating candidates for the coming Assembly elections to ensure that only people with clean image were considered for selection. ``I will appeal to all the partners of the NDA not to give tickets to those with criminal background,'' he said.

No poll strategy yet

Mr. Yadav was here in connection with his party's two- day national executive meeting to take stock of the political developments and formulate strategy for the elections. The meeting ended without any concrete result as the leaders were yet to chalk out a strategy for the polls.

Senior leaders, including the party's Lok Sabha leader, Mr. Devendra Prasad Yadav, have expressed doubts on the proposition whether the JD(U) should contest the elections under the banner of the NDA or not. Addressing a press conference, Mr. Yadav said the party was ready to contest the elections within the NDA under a ``common minimum programme.''

Without committing about the number of seats the JD(U) would contest, Mr. Yadav said seats where the party was strong were being identified. He lauded the efforts of Mr. Rajnath Singh for development of the State and tackling the law and order problem.

Mr. Yadav, commenting on the Most Backward Castes (MBCs) card in the State, said, ``we would be able to say anything on the issue only after the social justice committee submits its recommendations''. He, however, said the MBCs formula would certainly benefit the NDA and create an impact on the Assembly polls.

The national executive was attended among others by the former Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr. Ram Krishna Hegde, the party's Bihar unit president, Mr. Ram Jivan Singh, the Jharkhand unit president, Mr. Gautam Sagar Rana, with leaders from Uttar Pradesh and other States who deliberated upon the present political and economic situation of the country.

- PTI, UNI

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