Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Reacting to special court’s order of dismissing a petition seeking to make him a co-accused in the 2G scam case, Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday said that the government’s stand has been vindicated.
“My colleague in Parliament is not culpable and it was clear from SC verdict on Thursday,” Sibal said.
Criticising the opposition party for making comments against Chidambaram, the Telecom Minister said that they should apologise to the Home Minister. “The opposition should go to his home and say sorry,” Sibal said.
A number of other senior Ministers including Pranab Mukherjee, Salman Khurshid, SM Krishna and Ambika Soni said the
government is clear that Chidambaram had no role in the matter
and allegations against him were political.
Further hitting out at the opposition, Sibal said "We always know that our colleague (Chidambaram) in Parliament and in Government is absolutely not culpable for
anything against...that were put forward by Subramaniam
Swamy...I know the evidence and shifted through the evidence
and there is absolutely no responsibility that can be foisted
on my colleague."
Stating that "the opposition has been going for Chidambaram`s blood", Sibal said: "Such allegations destroy the credibility of the political system."
Sibal also raised questions over the way a section of the media was holding public debate on the issue even before the court pronounced its judgment.
"It is like playing with the reputation of a person," he said.
The Telecom Minister alleged that some Opposition leaders
in Parliament were making "very ugly" statements that are not
expected of responsible members.
Welcoming the court`s order, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today described it as a relief for the government.
"It is a good judgement. It is a relief for the government. Someone was being unnecessarily prosecuted. I welcome the judgement," Mukherjee told reporters during a visit to the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI).
Meanwhile, Expressing happiness over the judgement, Law Minister
Salman Khurshid said it was a "relief" for the government.
"...it is a relief, especially when it is a judgement coming
from a court," he told reporters here.
Khurshid said he was "happy" for Chidambaram as well as
the "system" after the judgement. The Law Minister termed his
Cabinet colleague as an "important" and "significant" member
of the UPA government.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni alleged
that Swamy did all this to keep himself in focus.
"We all know Swamy for years. It is not for the first
time that his petition has been dismissed. Earlier also he has
moved many petitions and all his pleas were dismissed. He did
it to keep himself in focus in the public domain," she said.
When asked that Swamy is planning to move higher court,
Sibal retorted back saying, "he will go to High Court and
Supreme Court...he will appeal to God."
The Telecom Minister also took a dig at the media on the
issue.
"I think the system has gone wrong. The way the TV
channels have debates one day before the hearing as if they
will tend to influence the hearing and direct in which the
judiciary should go. This is something that has to be
deprecated.
"Therefore all those institutions which are responsible
for disseminating information should also reflect on the role
they should play in the context of very serious cases before
the court," he said.
