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No need for Advani to step down: BJP chief

By Shahid K Abbas in New Delhi
June 03, 2003 00:06 IST

Bharatiya Janata Party president Venkaiah Naidu on Monday came to the defence of Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani saying there was no need for him to resign after being chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Advani and seven others were charged for their role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in December 1992.

The Congress had asked the deputy prime minister to step down owing moral responsibility.

Asked if the BJP will maintain the same stand as in the case of former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, chargesheeted in the fodder scam case, Naidu said, "That (Laloo's) case was of corruption. This is about a political agitation."

When pointed out that the agitation led to the thousands of deaths, whereas Laloo Yadav's case only pertained to corruption, Naidu said, "No moral turpitude or corruption was involved (in the Babri demolition case). Therefore there cannot be any comparison between the two."

Shahid K Abbas in New Delhi

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