Hyderabad: TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu
on Thursday demanded dismissal of Telecom Minister A Raja from the
Union Council of Ministers for his alleged involvement in the
Rs 1.76 lakh-crore 2G spectrum scandal and asked why the Prime
Minister has chosen to remain silent on the issue.
Addressing a press conference at the TDP headquarters
here, Chandrababu also demanded that the Centre immediately
constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G
spectrum scandal and criminal prosecution be launched against
those involved in it.
"A scandal of this proportion is not only mind-boggling
but also too scaring even to think of. Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh`s `silence and inaction` on corruption is becoming a
curse for the country," the former AP Chief Minister noted.
"Why is the Prime Minister not acting against Raja even
after the Supreme Court questioned his continuance in the
Union Cabinet," he asked.
Chandrababu held AICC President Sonia Gandhi responsible
for the "unbridled corruption" under the UPA regime and
demanded an explanation from her on the issue.
He recalled that the then NDA government under Prime
Minister A B Vajpayee remained very firm. "There were no
scandals under Vajpayee as the Cabinet was filled with honest
ministers. Even if there was any minor issue over corruption,
he acted very firmly and arrested the trend," Chandrababu, on
who lend support to the NDA, pointed out.
"Holding the remote control, Sonia appointed `dummies` in
key positions who are not acting against corrupt elements. So
far there has been no firm demonstrative action against the
corrupt elements as they seemed to have taken corruption for
granted," he lashed out.
The Rs 10,000 crore Indian Premier League scandal was
given a quiet burial after the resignation of Shashi Tharoor
from the Union Cabinet, he alleged.
The Commonwealth Games scandal too met with the same fate
after Suresh Kalmadi was removed as Congress Parliamentary
Party secretary. No further action was taken in the Adarsh
Society housing scandal after Maharashtra Chief Minister was
forced to quit, the TDP chief noted.
"The Bofors scandal shook the entire nation though the
amount involved was only Rs 67 crore. Now, when public money
amounting to Rs 1.76 lakh-crore was plundered, the Government
of India remains silent," he said and demanded a national
debate on corruption.
"Corruption is bringing disgrace to the country and
threatening to make future of next generations dark. Unless
awareness is raised among people on this evil the country
cannot claim to be a global power," Chandrababu said.
PTI
