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BJP denies charge against Vajpayee

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI AUG. 21. The Bharatiya Janata Party today denied that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, wrote any "letter'' asking for his release from prison during the Emergency when he was a Jana Sangh leader.

The party spokesperson, V.K. Malhotra, denied the allegation and described it as the "biggest lie'' even though the supposed "letter'' written by Mr. Vajpayee is with the Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, who is yet to give a ruling allowing Rahguvansh Prasad, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP, to lay the document on the table after verifying it or refusing permission if he is unable to come to a conclusion about its veracity.

Stoutly defending Mr. Vajpayee, Mr. Malhotra launched an attack on the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, saying "even after five years she can only read a text in Parliament.'' How can she be seen as a prime ministerial candidate, he asked. He said "twice'' she had to take the permission of the Speaker to "read'' a written text, which is normally not allowed under the rules.

The debate on the no-confidence motion which concluded yesterday was seen by the party as a "golden opportunity.''

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