UP government may play to Babri trio's tune

UP government may play to Babri trio's tune
SHARAD GUPTA

NEW DELHI, February 13: The BJP-led Government in Uttar Pradesh is unlikely to issue a fresh notification to restart prosecution of eight top BJP and VHP leaders including three L.K. Advani. Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, if Central BJP leaders are to be believed.

Top party leaders were huddled in a meeting this evening to discuss the Gujarat situation and also the fallout of the Allahabad High Court decision. They are learnt to have concluded that only the opposition parties, and not the public, was concerned whether the Rajnath Singh government in UP will issue a fresh notification which could lead to the trial of the senior leaders before the special court. ``There was no merit in the CBI case against them. I hope UP Government will take a decision by keeping this in mind,'' BJP general secretary Sahib Singh Varma told The Indian Express.

The BJP seems to be determined not to bow anymore to arm-twisting by its coalition partners in UP. ``We are ready to have assembly elections within next six months. But, none of the opposition parties want early polls,'' said another office bearer.

There are three options before the state government:
* to go in for appeal in the apex court against the High Court order
* reissue the notification in corrected form or
* sit tightly and not issue fresh notification.
The BJP leadership prefer the third option and seems to go ahead with it.