M A I N   N E W S

Sonia slams BJP for logjam, backs PM
Anita Katyal
Our Political Correspondent

New Delhi, December 13
The battlelines are clearly drawn. With the Opposition all set to continue its attack against the UPA Government on the 2G Spectrum scam through a series of public rallies, the Congress will hit back in equal measure by putting the BJP in the dock for having unnecessarily stalled Parliament. It will also turn the spotlight on the saffron party by raising questions on its record in handling of corruption issues.

This was evident from Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s combative address to party MPs on the last day of Parliament in which she signalled an all-out war as she launched a scathing attack against the BJP and urged party workers to expose its “double standards and doublespeak” on the issue of probity in public life and explain all the facts to the people.

Heaping praise on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his “wise leadership” and for “remaining calm amidst the storm”, the Congress president put all doubts at rest with her emphatic declaration, “The party stands solidly behind him in his endeavours.”

Unveiling the broad contours of the party’s counter offensive, Sonia rejected the Opposition’s persistent demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the 2G Spectrum allocation and detailed the measures taken by the government in dealing with this issue while turning the tables on the BJP for its inaction in Karnataka, where, she pointed out, “corruption is rampant.”

She recalled that it was during the BJP-led NDA regime that a senior minister resigned after the expose on the defence scam but was reinstated while the inquiry was on. She also referred to the Tehelka sting operation in which the then BJP president was caught taking money on camera and subsequently rehabilitated.

In contrast, Sonia said, the Congress had made it clear that it will not tolerate corruption or misconduct as it had asked its ministers and Chief Ministers to step down even when no charge against them had been proved. Although she did not mention any names, she was clearly referring to Ashok Chavan’s removal as Maharashtra CM and former Telecom Minister A.Raja’s resignation.

Forcefully refuting the charge that the government has something to hide and is shying away from investigation, she declared: “Let me reiterate in the clearest terms, our government has nothing to hide, our government has nothing to fear.”

She said the 2G Spectrum issue is being addressed at various levels. “It is being examined by Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the matter is also being investigated by the CBI and, in addition, a retired judge is looking into the administrative and procedural lapses,” said Sonia.

At the same time, the Congress president acknowledged the “painful fact that corruption is widespread”, adding that it is the responsibility of every political party to together devise a mechanism for curb this growing menace.

Taking the Opposition to task for disrupting the entire winter session of Parliament, Sonia said Lok Sabha leader Pranab Mukherjee had made several attempts to end the impasse and had even offered to attach a multi-disciplinary probe agency to the PAC to support it in its work but to no avail.