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The impasse over the continuance of three Samata Party ministers in the Union ministry continued for the second day on Friday as party leader George Fernandes said his colleagues were "in no mood to withdraw their resignations."
The three ministers -- Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar, Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh and Consumer Affairs Minister V Sreenivas Rao -- had submitted their resignations after Fernandes stepped down on Thursday evening.
While Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee accepted Fernandes' resignation, he had rejected those of the other three ministers.
Late on Thursday night, Nitish Kumar said he and his colleagues would "not join the government till an independent investigation clears the name of George Fernandes and exposes the forces who have started this campaign against the Samata Party."
Meanwhile, three senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders -- Vijay Goel, Mange Ram Garg and Kirti Azad -- met the three ministers on Friday morning to persuade them to withdraw their resignations.
Nitish had made it clear at Wednesday's National Democratic Alliance meeting that if Fernandes resigned, other Samata ministers would follow suit.
PTI
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