Rajnath Singh meets RSS leader Suresh Soni

    New Delhi: Ahead of national council meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party president Rajnath Singh today met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Suresh Soni and is understood to have discussed the appointment of office bearers and the composition of the national executive. During the two-hour-long talks, Singh is also understood to have discussed the likely agenda to be taken up by the National Council, which will be meeting on January 20 in New Delhi to endorse his appointment as BJP chief, sources said. Singh had earlier met Soni ,Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders and senior party leaders including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi on January 2.

   Meanwhile, the four BJP MPs who were expelled from Parliament for their role in the cash for query scam met Singh. The meeting assumes significance as it comes ahead of the January 20 all- party meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to discuss the court notices relating to their expulsion. The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to Chatterjee and three others in connection with the latter's order to expel the MPs. A two-judge division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Vijinder Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma had served the notice, acting on a petition filed by expelled Member of Parliament Lal Chander Kol. The court in its notice had directed Chatterjee and three others to file their replies within a fortnight. The next hearing of the case will take place on February 16. On December 23, the Lok Sabha had expelled its ten members who were caught on camera accepting money for raising questions in the Parliament. The 10 expelled members were Annasahed M K Patil, Y. G. Mahajan, Suresh Chandel, Pradeep Gandhi and Chandra Pratap Singh (all Bharatiya Janata Party), Narendra Kumar Kushwaha, Lal Chandra Kol and Rajaram Pal (all Bahujan Samaj Party), Manoj Kumar (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and Ramsevak Singh (Congress). Leader of the House and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee had moved the motion, which the Lower House passed by a voice vote after a five-hour long debate. Condemning the MPs' act, the House held that their (MPs) continuance was untenable, as it had brought down the dignity and prestige of Parliament.

   The move came after Pawan Kumar Bansal-led Committee, investigating the scam, had recommended the expulsion of all the 10 Lok Sabha members facing charges of corruption. In its recommendations, the Committee had said that it felt "that howsoever harsh it may sound; the continuance of these members of the Lok Sabha will be untenable. The Committee accordingly recommends that the House may consider expulsion of the 10 members from the membership of the 14th Lok Sabha."

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