Left cautions govt against reinducting George into cabinet

NEW DELHI Oct 13 (UNI) Left parties today cautioned the Vajpayee government against reinducting George Fernandes into the cabinet, saying that the move would be a severe blow to the public resolve of checking corruption in high offices.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) politbureau said in a statement here that there were media reports about the reinduction of former Defence Minister in the cabinet expansion by the prime minister on October 15.

It will be a brazen disregard for propriety and the governments own stand that it would like to get to the bottom of the Tehelka tapes.

The CPI(M) politbureau said.

Fernandes had resigned as the Defence Minister after the Tehelka expose and there is a judicial commission investigating the charges of accepting bribe, including an episode with in the Defence Ministers house, involving the then president of Samata party, the left party said.

CPI National Secretary D Raja said the government must refrain from bringing him back into the Cabinet until his name was cleared in the Tehelka expose.

Political morality demanded that he should not be reinducted intothe cabinet till the time the inquiry was being conducted, Raja added.