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Mahajan must resign: Congress

The Congress on Friday demanded the dismissal of Parliamentary Affairs and I-T and Communication Minister Pramod Mahajan in order to facilitate a fair probe into the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.

Madhu Sharma, wife of Indian Police Service officer R K Sharma, the absconding prime accused in the case, had said on Thursday that the minister was involved in the murder of the Indian Express journalist.

Urging Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remove Mahajan from his Council of Ministers, Congress spokesman Satyavrat Chatturvedi said: "BJP, which was already neck-deep under a series of corruption charges against a number of its top leaders, has now added a new feather to its cap after a minister belonging to the party has been charged with involvement in a criminal case of murder of a senior journalist."

Chatturvedi said, "BJP is a party which has been making loud noises about weeding out corruption from politics. But the murder charge levelled against its senior leader like Pramod Mahajan unveils its true colour."

Recalling the charges made by Sharma, he said, "She has also talked about the Deputy Prime Minister, L K Advani, and that angle should also be taken into account while a probe is undertaken."

He also expressed surprise that the case was kept in "cold storage" for the past three years.

He said the wife of the accused had also talked about a 45-minute telephonic conversation between Mahajan and Bhatnagar on the day she was killed.

"What talks took place would throw significant light in solving the murder mystery," he said, adding, "the impression should not carry that Mahajan being the minister of communication has influenced anything pertaining to the telephonic talks and therefore [he] should be immediately removed from his post."

Asked if he was demanding an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation, he said, "We are not averse to the idea of a CBI probe. But, a fair investigation is our foremost demand."

Shivani Bhatnagar murder case: Complete coverage

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