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March 20, 2001

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Thackeray joins campaign against PMO

Joining the Opposition attack on the Prime Minister's Office in the wake of the Tehelka expose, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Tuesday demanded the immediate removal of Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and Officer on Special Duty N K Singh from the PMO till the judicial inquiry into the scandal was completed.

Thackeray, whose party is a constituent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance coalition, also said that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya should have nothing to do with the PMO till the inquiry was completed.

''If there are suspicions about National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, officer on special duty in the PMO N K Singh and PM's foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya, then they must be removed immediately,'' the Sena supremo said in an editorial in his party's mouthpiece Saamna.

''What is Mishra's role as chief of the National Security Council?'' the Sena chief asked, stating his functioning had come under attack right from the beginning.

''Strictures have been passed against him (Mishra) in the Kargil episode, while the NSA was not available to take a decision to finalise the strategy when the Indian Airlines aircraft was hijacked from Nepal,'' Thackeray alleged.

Similarly, Singh has received flak for his functioning, the editorial noted, questioning why such persons were needed in the PMO.

Mishra and Singh had publicly denied allegations made in the Tehelka tapes against them, on Monday.

Claiming that even the NDA's other allies have demanded their removal, Thackeray said as long as the probe into the expose was completed, the trio should be removed from the PMO.

Earlier, following the expose, the Sena chief had demanded a thorough probe into the matter saying there was no need for the resignation of the prime minister.

PTI

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