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Resign, Patel, resign, don't you have any self-respect?

There is only one way for Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel to go if he has any self respect -- out of the assembly door, and straight on... till he is far, far away from the seat of power.

Er, the opinion is not Rediff's but belongs to Union Commerce Minister and Lok Shakti leader Ramakrishna Hegde who, when in Mangalore the other day, just couldn't help ventilating his emotions.

Which, put straight and simple, amounted to another heartfelt cry for the Janata Dal chief minister's resignation (Hegde has made many cries for the same, but always in vain!): Patel, man, put in your papers, now, if you have 'any self respect', if you 'cherished democratic principles'.

Hegde's outpouring didn't stop with just that. If it was he who was in Patel's position, he said, he would have resigned and sought a fresh mandate. Asked whether the Janata Dal government should be sacked using Article 356, the Lok Shakti leader said, No, that shouldn't be.

Despite his grief at the Patel government's poor performance -- he remembered to remind that he was instrumental in bringing it to power in 1994 -- Hegde was not averse to commenting on a plethora of other issues. Thus:

Will he attract the provisions of the Anti-defection Law? No, said Hegde (who was elected to the Rajya Sabha on JD ticket), he had not resigned from the party -- he was expelled.

Exim policy? It would definitely not affect the national interest adversely.

Security cover for former prime ministers? It should be drastically reduced, no question about that.

The cogentrix power project? All charges of corruption and environmental aspects would be looked into before taking a final decision.

And the Byndoor assembly by-election? Talks are on with the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on fielding a Lok Shakti candidate.

About his apolitical Rashtriya Navnirman Vedike? Oh, it's organising a national seminar (A second look at the Constitution) in Bangalore next month...

Needleless to say, Patel, who kept his counsel on his pet foes's allegations, kept his seat, too. If Hegde thought he didn't have any self respect, so be it...

UNI

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