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All-party committee to go into Bhagwat's dismissal

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

An all-party meeting presided over by Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi today decided to set up a committee of politicians to look into the dismissal of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat.

Briefing reporters at Parliament House after the ninety-minute meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Kumaramangalam said the speaker, in consultation with Rajya Sabha Chairman Krishan Kant, would decide the committee's strength and composition as well as its terms and conditions.

"All necessary information will be made available to the committee," he promised.

Meanwhile, a motion under Rule 193 (short-duration discussion without a vote) on charges of corruption in the defence ministry, levelled by Bhagwat, will be taken up in the Lok Sabha on March 17.

On March 16, a discussion on the sacking of Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's adviser Mohan Guruswamy and the charges of corruption levelled by him will be held in the Lok Sabha, also under Rule 193.

Prof P J Kurien, Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, said his party's endeavour during the discussions would be to press for the creation of a joint parliamentary committee to investigate both issues.

He disagreed that the opposition, including the Congress, had backed down from its position on the issues and promised to spare no efforts to grill the government on the corruption charges.

Kurien said Congress leaders in Parliament had not given any commitment to the prime minister about not raising the Bhagwat issue.

Today's all-party meeting came in the wake of the noisy adjournment of the Rajya Sabha when agitated opposition members prevented Prime Minister Vajpayee from responding to their charges against the government.

BJP spokesman M Venkaiah Naidu said he was happy a way out of the impasse on the corruption issue had been found. He accused the "frustrated" opposition, "envious" of the government's achievements like the bus to Lahore and the "widely appreciated" Union Budget, of resorting to obstructionist tactics and preventing Vajpayee from responding to their charges.

Naidu said BJP politicians and cadres would fan out all over the country to highlight the achievements of the Vajpayee government. This indicates that the ruling coalition is gearing up to meet the opposition challenge, which might well culminate in a battle royal at the hustings.

While Vajpayee will be visiting Calcutta on March 20, other politicians like Lal Kishenchand Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre will be touring other parts to give a strong reply to the opposition charges.

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