Prime Minister invites Opposition to verify his assets.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday countered the charges of corruption against him by the Opposition emphatically and said he was ready for verification of his assets.
He invited the leader of opposition to scrutinise his property which he might have accumulated in the last 41 years. “I would accept the verdict if they find that I have used public office to amass wealth for myself or for any member of my family,” he said. Singh said he might have made mistakes but firmly rejected the charges of conniving at corruption. He stressed on the need to collectively find credible solutions to corruption.
He pointed out that during his seven years tenure he had never used harsh language against any member of the house despite several accusations from opposition. Singh took strong objection to the personal attack on him by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
Joshi had led the charge during the debate and had said the second UPA was a government of the corrupt, by the corrupt and for the corrupt.
Singh mentioned his contribution to the country first as finance minister in the 1990s and as Prime Minister now and said, “When charges are levelled against me, it hurts. But I am not going to convert this forum into a forum of accusation one way or the other”.