Date:02/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/07/02/stories/2004070206081100.htm

National

Shivraj Patil calls up Advani

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 1. Amid the first-rate political controversy brewing over gubernatorial appointments, the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, has reportedly sought the help of the Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, in securing the resignations of five Governors the Government wants to replace.

According to sources close to the top Bharatiya Janata Party leadership, Mr. Patil telephoned Mr. Advani last night and requested him to ask the Governors of Goa, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to put in their papers.

However, Mr. Advani, it is learnt, flatly refused to do so, pointing out that they were Governors holding a constitutional office and were no longer under the discipline of the BJP.

"They are not BJP men, they are Governors," he is reported to have told Mr. Patil. Earlier, BJP leaders declared that the Governors appointed during the Vajpayee administration were not going to oblige the Government by tendering their resignations. Following the "tainted" Ministers' controversy, the party sees this as yet another "issue" with which to try and pin down the Government during the coming Budget session.