Bangalore: BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) general secretary Arun Jaitley today (Sep 5, 2004) accused the Karnataka Government of being guilty of contempt of court and perjury on the issue of withdrawal of cases against Uma Bharti and charged that continuation of the cases against her was guided only by political considerations.

Speaking to reporters in Bangalore before courting arrest as part of the BJP's agitation on the Uma Bharti issue, he charged the Government with "lying" in the High Court that it stood by the cabinet decision of 2002 to withdraw the cases against the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister "by telling a Hubli court yesterday that it now has second thoughts on withdrawal".

"We are accusing them (the State) of making factually incorrect statements before the court, misleading the court and lying before the court on oath. That is precisely what the Karnataka Government has done yesterday," Jaitley said.

"The Karnataka Government has lied before the HC, by telling the magisterial court yesterday that now we have second thoughts on withdrawal and it is no longer in public interest to withdraw this case," he said.

The Government had told the High Court on Monday last (Aug 30, 2004) that it stood by the two-year old decision to drop the cases against Bharti. But the Additional Public Prosecutor maintained before the Judicial Magistrate Court in Hubli yesterday (Sep 4, 2004) that there was a possibility of Bharti and her supporters disturbing peace and creating a situation of rioting if they were released.