Keep RJD out of UF till Laloo is cleared in fodder scam: DMK chief

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi's compromise formula at the United Front core committee meeting suggested keeping the Rashtriya Janata Dal out of the 13-party combine till Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav was cleared of the charges in the Rs 9.5 billion fodder scam.

The Front could accept outside support from the RJD, if the latter was prepared for it as was the case with the Congress. The three ministers in the Gujral ministry owing allegiance to the RJD need not step down as they were not involved in the scam, Karunanidhi said.

However, it is not clear how the RJD's support to the government from outside could be described as similar to that of the Congress when three of Laloo Yadav's aides continue in the UF ministry.

The DMK chief said he was forced to make public the formula in the wake of conflicting versions about the decision taken at Thursday's meeting.

After he had made it clear that no final decision about admitting the RJD into the Front at the meeting, certain UF leaders said the DMK chief had extended unconditional support to Laloo Yadav, threatening the stability of the I K Gujral government. Karunanidhi said this was regrettable.

He recalled that his statement contradicting Union Information and Broadcasting Minister and UF spokesman S Jaipal Reddy's claim had been endorsed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Front convener Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Communist Party of India general secretary A B Bardhan who participated in the core committee meeting.

Karunanidhi said it should be left to Laloo Yadav whether he should resign as chief minister or not.

UNI

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