Union minister joins JD-S

Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution V Srinivas Prasad has resigned from the government and joined the H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal-Secular.

Prasad, a senior politician from Karnataka with considerable influence in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts, told reporters that he faxed his resignation letter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday night.

Prasad, five-time Lok Sabha member in a political career spanning over three decades, said he joined JD-S primarily to "dethrone the Congress government in the state."

Prasad, a member of Defence Minister George Fernandes' Samata Party, which recently merged with the Janata Dal-United, said Fernandes was unhappy with his decision to join the JD-S.

Asked

why he was not throwing his weight behind the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka, Prasad accused it of clearly violating the National Democratic Alliance agenda.

He said the BJP's state unit chief, Ananth Kumar, recently organised a 'Hindu Samajotsava' in which Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief Praveen Togadia took part.

Prasad said he would not contest parliamentary or assembly elections as he was "mentally and physically exhausted" by electoral politics.

"I will remain in active politics. My intention is to defeat the Congress. The Congress government should go. I can not
sit idle," he said.