PM defends Lalu, discusses fodder scam cases' impact

RJD leader meets Sonia, rules out resignation from cabinet

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today came out in Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's defence and said there was no question of his quitting or being asked to resign in the ongoing fodder scam. Singh called the stand of the Opposition "unfortunate".

But it was suggested to Prasad that if he told the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to treat as withdrawn his remarks about the Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it might resolve the logjam in Parliament.

Meanwhile, the Opposition further hardened its stand and said they would decide their strategy on Monday.

Yadav met everyone today "" from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to the Prime Minister""and sources close to the railway minister said while he was bitter and angry with the role of the Congress in the whole episode, for not defending him enough, Prasad was going to fight another day, not just give up and resign.

From within the Prasad camp, the feeling was that the media and the Congress had ganged up against him, one openly and the other subtly, but that it was necessary to wear an undamaged face because this would have the effect of consolidating the vote banks back in Bihar.

It is this that is likely to make Prasad even more vehement in criticising the role of the RSS when the House meets on Monday. Prasad is not as concerned about the functioning of Parliament as he is about an imminent election to the Bihar Assembly and all the stances taken by him today arise from that.

But the Prime Minister has other concerns. While politically, it is all very well to stand by Prasad - and Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni likened the case against Prasad to the case against Murli Manohar Joshi in the Ayodhya case where he offered to resign on being chargesheeted but was asked to stay on - Singh is said to be worried about the possible political fall-out of one particular case of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income against Prasad.

The Rs 46 lakh case, pending before the Patna High Court, appears to be coming to an end and the judgement in that case is about to be pronounced.

According to top sources in the PMO, this was one of the topics for discussion between Singh and Prasad as the latter met the Prime Minister today.

While there are nearly 136 cases of corruption and flouting of tax laws against Prasad and his wife former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi pending before the Patna High Court, this one case is said to be worrying the Prime Minister the most.

"While there are no technical grounds for Prasad to resign after the framing of charges in the fodder scam case, if an adverse judgement in the disproportionate assets case comes through, we might be in a fix," said a source in the PMO.

"There are no escape routes if a conviction appears. However, the conviction rate in disproportionate asset cases is quite low," the source added.

The Prime Minister is perhaps mindful of this particular speed breaker. "They discussed the status of cases against him, and the enquiry over the alleged attack on him (Prasad) in Gujarat. Certainly, the state of the railways was not a subject," said the source.