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Khurana, Tytler go for each other's jugular

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

The battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party's Madan Lal Khurana and Congress politician Jagdish Tytler in Delhi Sadar has started hotting up, with the two trading charges in a bid to manipulate the media.

The stalwarts held separate press conferences in New Delhi this morning. Khurana accused Tytler of manipulating the court judgment on the eve of election that acquitted him in a riot case.

Tytler countered by producing the court order that gave him the clean chit.

Khurana, former Union minister for parliamentary affairs and tourism, had dashed off a letter to Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, alleging that Tytler's acquittal could not have been possible without the connivance of the Delhi police, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and some officials of the Delhi government who misled the court.

The letter demanded that the home ministry order an inquiry into the matter. It also questioned the authority of Special Police Commissioner S Ramakrishnan to give Tytler a clean chit.

"I have enclosed a copy of the letter written by the officer for the information of the home minister. The letter dated 2.8.1999 says that there is no case pending against Tytler. The same officer had issued a similar letter just before the last general election as well. I have taken up the matter with Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vijai Kapoor and Police Commissioner A R Sharma. Both have told me that the officer had no business to write such a letter.

"Ramakrishnan has hushed up the case of FIR 633 registered at the Sabzi Mandi police station as untraceable. This should also be inquired into and sent to the high court in appeal. What is important is the fact that Ramakrishnan wrote the letter one week before the judgment was delivered by the court," Khurana said at the press conference.

The angry BJP politician wanted to know why Tytler had not filed a defamation suit against him so far if he (Khurana) was telling lies. "I challenge Tytler to take me to court and face me in court. He makes sensational statements to get into print," he said.

In sharp contrast to the emotional Khurana, Tytler presented a calm face. "I have been told by some friends in the media about the allegations levelled against me. First of all, let me inform you that my advocate has sent a legal notice to Khurana. We have asked him to apologise or face a Rs1 crore defamation suit," the Congressman said, smiling.

He time and again pleaded with the scribes to pay attention to what he had to say. "Please, do not spoil my chances. I have answers to all his questions. Khurana is a liar and he is seeking votes merely on an anti-Tytler campaign. Let him name even one developmental work that he has done in his constituency. I challenge him to have an open debate with me in front of the media. Let the media decide who is telling the truth," he added.

Asked about Ramakrishnan's letter, Tytler said it did not give him 'a clean chit'. It merely informed the court that there was no case pending against him in any police station in Delhi.

"This does not amount to giving me a clean chit. You should go through the judgment of R K Gauba, CMM [chief metropolitan magistrate]. The judgment answers all his allegations in detail. The court said that Rajwant Kaur had not given any statement to the police wherein she had named Tytler as the one who was leading the mobs. The court also points out how her lawyer had refused to go through a lie detector test after the lady gave a statement. The gentleman called Dilbag Singh has nothing to do with the case.

"Khurana knows that he cannot win against me. So he is raising the bogey of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to exploit the sentiments of Sikh voters. But the Sikhs have seen through his game and will not fall into his trap," the Congress politician said.

Tytler claimed that the introduction of trams and an underground rail in Delhi were his ideas. "I have got newspaper cuttings to prove it," he said, displaying some. "I am amused to hear that Khurana is now claiming that it is his brain-child."

He went on: "Khurana is making a hue and cry about the missing file no 633/84 in Sabzi Mandi police station. This particular FIR was registered on the complaint of Gurmail Singh and not Dilbag Singh or Rajwant Kaur as Khurana claims. The first information report was registered under sections 147, 148, 149, 153, 153-A, 395, 397, 427, 436, 295/302 IPC dated 31.10.1984, and the local police were able to recover substantial looted merchandise with bundles of clothes, shoes, etc. The report of the said investigations were presented to the court and it was only after much deliberation that it gave me a clean chit," he said.

While Tytler is content to let the controversy be, Khurana is not. "I am on the job and soon you will hear on this matter," promised the former Delhi chief minister.

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