BJP clings to ‘A Prattler’s Tale’ on PM

NEW DELHI: Former West Bengal finance minister Ashok Mitra���s claims about the role of American pressure in the selection of the finance minister in P V Narasimha Rao���s government in 1991 was on Monday used by the BJP to corner prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr Singh was the country���s finance minister then, and it is the manner by which he came to occupy the post that has been questioned by the former West Bengal finance minister. Mr Mitra made this point in his book, christened `A Prattler���s Tale.��� It was published only recently, but has already generated a lot of controversy about its contents.

In one of the chapters, Mr Mitra, who, after a stint in West Bengal as its finance minister, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the CPM, makes some unsavoury remarks about the choice of his finance minister by prime minister Narasimha Rao in 1991. He alleges that the offer was first made to former RBI governor I G Patel (even though his name is not mentioned), but when he refused to accept it, the choice fell on Mr Singh.

The BJP asked Mr Mitra, and the object of his allegation, Mr Singh, who���s now the country���s prime minister, to come clean on the issue. ``It is generally believed that Mr Singh is a man of impeccable integrity. Loyalty to one���s country is the biggest test of this integrity. Mr Mitra, in his book, has sought to question this,������ party vice-president Yashwant Sinha told newspersons on Monday afternoon.

For good measure, the BJP leader also asked the CPM, which extends the crucial lifeline to the UPA government and which has serious reservations about ``the all-pervasive American influence,������ to clarify its position.

The issue here, the former union minister maintained, is not the process of reforms. ``It is the manner in which the Narasimha Rao government appointed Mr Singh as its finance minister, who���s now the prime minister,������ Mr Sinha argued.

``If such views are expressed about the country���s prime minister, we���ve reasons to be disappointed, and concerned,������ the former minister added.