New Delhi, November 24
A high-level strategy session by the Congress party’s Big Five today decided to hit back at the Opposition by drawing a comparison between the NDA’s handling of the Tehelka revelations with its own quick response to the Volcker committee report.

Defence Minister and Leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee convened a special meeting with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Union Ministers P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Shivraj Patil to see how the Congress can best demolish the NDA attack on the Volcker committee report, which is likely to be debated in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Chief whips P. K. Bansal and V. Narayanswamy were also present at this meeting.

Mr Chidambaram, who briefed the others on the Volcker report, is reported to have told them that the charges contained in it are unsubstantiated and the author had admitted that it is based on unverified documents. “It was decided that we don’t have to be defensive on this issue. In fact, we will launch a full-throated counter-offensive,” said a senior UPA minister.

In keeping with this strategy, the Congress today gave several notices in both Houses on former Naval chief Vishnu Bhagwat’s book “Betrayal of the Armed Forces” and Jagmohan’s My Frozen Turbulence to discuss the revelations about former Defence Minister George Fernandes’s links with militants in the North-East. This is to counter the Opposition’s demand for a debate on a book, Mitrokhin Papers, which has alleged that former Left and Congress leaders were bankrolled by the former Soviet Union.

The Congress, which is expected to line up its top speakers like P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Pranab Mukherjee, will turn the tables on the NDA by pointing out how it had dithered over instituting a probe into the Tehelka scam even though BJP president was shown accepting cash on camera while arms deals were openly discussed at the Defence Minister’s residence.

Besides, the NDA government failed to register an FIR against those captured on camera while this matter was not discussed in Parliament at all on the plea that a judicial commission is enquiring into it. It will also be pointed out how former Defence Minister George Fernandes was reinducted into the Cabinet even before he was cleared by the enquiry.

In contrast, the Congress will argue, its handling of Volcker has been far more transparent and honest. Besides instituting two probes, Mr Natwar Singh had relinquished his ministry and, more importantly, the UPA government had not hesitated to a debate on this issue although rules do not permit such a discussion once an enquiry is ordered.