Sharad Yadav refuses to quit

Why is the Janata Dal adopting double standards -- the party had demanded Laloo Prasad Yadav's resignation but is ignoring a Delhi court's decision to frame charges against party president Sharad Yadav in the hawala scam?

Confronted by the question, JD general secretary Bapu Kaldate adopted a defensive posture at a media conference on Friday.

When the media persisted with the query, Kaldate said the fact that Sharad Yadav was the first to admit that he had received money from the Jains showed his honesty. Kaldate said that the money came in the form of a contribution to the party.

Asked for his reaction on the verdict, Sharad Yadav said he did not hold a government post and there was no reason for him to resign. He said he earlier resigned his Lok Sabha seat and that he cannot be ''hanged twice for the same crime''. He said his lawyers would decide whether to appeal to the high court against the verdict.

The JD president also said that if resignations were sought because of chargesheets, 70 per cent of the MPs would have to resign.

However, it was apparent from Kaldate's statements that after the Laloo Yadav crisis, the leadership was determined to do some soul-searching in order to rectify some chinks in the party's armour.

UNI adds: Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral refused to comment on the likely fallout of the verdict.