Vajpayee resigns

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today submitted his resignation to President K R Narayanan after his government lost the motion of confidence in the Lok Sabha by a solitary vote.

Accepting the resignation, the President asked Vajpayee to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made.

The prime minister drove straight to Rashtrapati Bhavan after a meeting of the Union Cabinet which accepted the verdict of the House and placed on record its appreciation of the leadership provided by him.

The ministers lauded the "statesmanship, vision and public-spiritedness" of the prime minister.

Vajpayee's meeting with the President lasted 30 minutes.

Talking to reporters after submitting his resignation, Vajpayee did not rule out the possibility of an early election.

He said, "We got the expected number of votes, but lost by only one vote."

Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, who was among those who accompanied the prime minister, said they had informed the President that even today the BJP-led coalition enjoyed the confidence of 269 members. The government lost because of the presence of Orissa Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang who, Advani claimed, had no right to cast his vote.

Soon after Vajpayee left, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee arrived at Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet the President.

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