Blaming Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for orchestrating division in Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership alleged that investigations in the 2G spectrum scam can’t be completed without investigating the role of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was then finance minister.
This is the first time that an opposition party has demanded an enquiry into Chidambaram’s role.
Senior leaders of the BJP also said the PAC report on the 2G spectrum scam must be tabled in Parliament and the Union government must not try to cover it up with its majority in the Lok Sabha.
While blaming four Union ministers for influencing the functioning of PAC, BJP leaders claimed there was no provision in the rule book to reject the findings of PAC. The BJP leaders also challenged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to prove that the report was not based on facts. The BJP has decided to hold rallies and public meetings across the country on the spectrum scam and PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister and Kalraj Mishra, former PAC member would spearhead the campaign. The first public meeting was held in New Delhi on Thursday.
“What happened at the PAC meeting when members of the Congress Party and DMK disrupted the functioning, did it happen without the consent of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister? The Congress Party can thwart our efforts to fight corruption because they have a majority in the Parliament but how will they stop the people of this country who want to end corruption?” Nitin Gadkari, BJP President questioned.
The leaders further alleged that the former finance minister P Chidambaram was hand-in-glove with A Raja, the former telecom minister, when the 2G spectrum scam was being carried out.
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“I have seen all the documents and noting of the reports. I have also been the finance minister and know how the ministry functions. The investigations in the 2G spectrum allocation scam cannot be completed till the time P Chidambaram is investigated. The central bureau of investigation (CBI) should investigate him,” said Yashwant Sinha, the former PAC member that prepared the report on 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Squarely blaming the Prime Minister for being silent when 2G spectrum allocation scam happened, BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi asked why was the union government not allowing the PAC to bring out corruption.
“The PM knew everything what was happening. On one side the PM action should be taken against the corrupt but his ministers don’t listen to him. We were not biased in the report, at least till the time I am there as the PAC chairman,” Joshi said.