BJP leaders are apprehensive that Uttar Pradesh Governor Romesh Bhandari may not allow Kalyan Singh to become the Chief Minister in the wake of the designated courts decision to frame charges against Singh in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The party feels there is a difference between the Ayodhya chargecheet and the one relating to hawala charges. The BJP has termed the Ayodhya movement a political agitation, and hence party leaders argue that the charges are political. The BJP has decided to file a revision petition in the high court against the designated courts judgement, party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said yesterday.
The court has summoned all the accused persons in the Ayodhya case, including Singh, BJP president LK Advani, former party president Murli Manohar Joshi, Vishwa Hindu Parishads working president Ashok Singhal and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on October 17 for the next hearing.
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The CBI had already filed chargesheet against them and others. The designated court had reserved its verdict on whether there was a prima facie evidence for substantiating the charges levelled by the CBI against the accused. The court recently concluded that prima facie the evidence on record was enough to substantiate the charges.
Some BJP leaders privately admit that Romesh Bhandari, who is considered close to the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, might usee the courts recent judgement in order to prevent Singh from becoming chief minsiter. Bhanadari cannot do anything constitutionally, but he can do anything as a person, a BJP office-bearer said.
The BJP is counting on the judiciousness of Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta but at the same time it is not known who would dominate in the cabinet: Gupta or Yadav, he said. The partys solace is that Bhandari would not be able to prevent the BJP from coming to power even if he succeeds in preventing Singh.
In this case the BJP would choose another person to lead the government as the party cannot afford Presidents rule in the state. A rule by Bhandari would be a de facto rule by Yadav and the BJP-BSP coalition would be a clear loser, another BJP office-bearer said. Yadav will destroy us, he said.
The BJP leader held that if Singh was prevented from becoming chief minister he would emerge as a hero and a big vote catcher in the state.