New Delhi, July 24: The opposition in Lok Sabha today sought to keep alive the Ayodhya issue by tabling notices of privilege motion against law minister Arun Jaitley for "misleading" the house on the "dilution" of charges against Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and seven others in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The notices were given by Congress chief whip Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and Muslim League leader G M Banatwala, who raised the matter during the zero hour wanting to know the fate of their notices. "The matter is under my consideration," Speaker Manohar Joshi said acknowledging the fact that the two members had given the notices. The notices alleged that the law minister had "suppressed" facts and "misled" the house on the "dilution" of charges against Advani and seven others in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

The letter written by the law minister to the Speaker, who read it out in the house on Monday, had stated that "CBI has not diluted any case, dropped any charge against any accused person. Section 120 B was never a charge in the Rae Bareilly chargesheet and the question of dropping it does not arise." Yesterday, after a two-hour discussion on the issue of CBI "dropping" the charges of conspiracy against Advani and others, the speaker had rejected an opposition-adjournment motion on the subject.


Bureau Report