Laloo Yadav ignores top UF leaders's appeal

Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav seems to have ignored an appeal faxed by the United Front leadership on Friday asking him to quit following the gubernatorial sanction for his prosecution in the Rs 9.5 billion fodder scam.

Well-placed sources in the prime minister's office pointed out that the appeal was signed by senior UF leaders including Prime Minister I K Gujral. The message said the Bihar chief minister should quit to save the Front's reputation. 'As a mass leader you should uphold democratic traditions by quitting and clearing your name in the scam,' the message reportedly said.

The appeal was sent after considerable discussion among the UF leaders, some of whom opposed the move. A few Janata Dal leaders including Gujral were initially reluctant to sign the fax, fearing it would send the wrong signals. However, all the Left leaders and several other UF leaders including Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu insisted that the message should bear their signatures.

The Front leaders felt that Bihar Governor A R Kidwai's sanction for Laloo Yadav's prosecution and the Supreme Court verdict asking Janata Dal leaders Madhu Dandavate and S Jaipal Reddy to oversee the party presidential poll have put the Bihar chief minister in a tight corner. These two factors, it was felt, might precipitate Laloo Yadav's decision to quit.

However, the lack of response to the fax message indicates that the Bihar chief minister is unwilling to quit. As talk of Laloo Yadav forming a regional party gains strength, the Front is looking for a successor to the Bihar chief minister.

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