Prime Minister denies being a British informer

Prime Minister Vajpayee on Monday denied Congress allegations that he was a British informer during the 1942 Quit India Movement.

Kicking off his own campaign here, Prime Minister A B Vajpayee seemed somewhat on the back foot — defending himself against charges relating to his role in the freedom movement.

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Vajpayee met Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's Bharat Uday Yatra as it rolled into the Uttar Pradesh capital. Both leaders addressed the poorly attended rally that marked the occasion. The ground where the rally was held was half-empty.

Vajpayee made it clear that he had done nothing during the freedom movement that anyone would be ashamed of. He said he had joined the Quit India Movement in 1942 when he was in Gwalior. "I took part in the 1942 movement," he said. "My family members asked me to leave home as the police was after me. I was sent to a village. There too I took part in the movement and was arrested there." The politics of character assassination must stop immediately, the prime minister added.

Vajpayee also sought to present a united face to party workers. He reiterated that there were no differences between him and Advani and said their resolve to work for the country had kept them together.

And to work for the country, Vajpayee argued, stability was essential. He urged the people to vote for the BJP because frequent change was not conducive to development. And a clear mandate was necessary, the prime minister added, saying the BJP would need at least 272 seats to push their programmes ahead. He asked the people of the Awadh region to give all the seats there to the BJP.