Was never against Vajpayee, says Saifuddin Soz

SRINAGAR: Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Prof. Saifuddin Soz who had defied his party, the National Conference, and voted against the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in the most famous no-confidence motion in the Parliament on April 17, 1999 resulting into its collapse said on Friday that it was not against the former Prime Minister as such.

The Vajpayee-led coalition government had secured 269 votes while the opposition got 270. Though then Odisha CM Giridhar Gamang who had not resigned his LoK Sabha seat yet also pressed the no button, it was Mr Soz who was credited by the opposition for bringing the 13-month old government down. After being voted out in the Lok Sabha by one vote, Mr. Soz had publicly boasted over his having brought down a “communal” government and saw himself as a cause celebre in it.