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Buta Singh joins Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha

Former communication minister Buta Singh, who had recently been dismissed from the Vajpayee ministry, today joined the newly formed Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha.

The Morcha has been jointly floated by Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav.

At a press conference in the presence of Front convener Mulayam Singh, Buta Singh said he would retain his independent status in Parliament but would work for the Samajwadi Party outside. He said he fully subscribed to the ideology and policies of the Morcha, that espouses secular democratic ideals.

Buta Singh was at pains to explain why he had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition. He had taken the step as a Dalit and not out of his love for the BJP's ideology and programme which, according to him, was now "communal, anti-Dalit and posing a threat to the country's unity and integrity".

Asked about his role as the home minister in the Rajiv Gandhi ministry when the shilanyas (foundation-laying ceremony) was held for the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, he said the decision was taken by a Cabinet subcommitee headed by P V Narasimha Rao and the then Congress government in Uttar Pradesh had endorsed the plans for the shilanyas just 32 metres away from the disputed site.

Mulayam Singh tried to gloss over Buta Singh's role in the shilanyas, saying he had acted in a 'different situation', implementing the decision of the then government.

Buta Singh's son Harvinder Singh, meanwhile, announced that he had joined the Samajwadi Party.

UNI

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