NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Besides Kumar, Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs V Sreenivasa Prasad had submitted their resignations, to show their solidarity with Fernandes.
It was officially stated that Vajpayee had not accepted the three resignations.
But, Kumar and Singh stuck to their decision to resign despite the prime minister's rejection.
"We will not join the government till an independent investigation clears the name of George Fernandes and exposes those forces who have started this campaign against the Samata Party," Kumar and Singh told a press conference.
"We know how to make the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) accept our resignations," they said.
The Samata Party, at a late night meeting at Fernandes' residence, decided to support the National Democratic Alliance from outside.
The resignations of Fernandes, Mamata Banerjee and Ajit Panja were accepted and forwarded to President K R Narayanan for approval, it was officially stated.
PTI
The Complete Coverage | Defence sites
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
