Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Shortly after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured the nation that those guilty in major scams will not be spared, during a live interaction with media persons , the opposition parties on Wednesday termed the whole exercise as an ‘attempt to cover up’.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said, “Prime Minister’s much publicized interaction with senior journalists is nothing but an attempt to cover up on major scams that have been unearthed in the recent past.”
“I appreciate the Prime Minister’s partial admission of guilt and his failure to do anything. It was an honest expression and I respect him for that. But in my view, It was disappointing... the Prime Minister admitted that he does not have strength to fight corruption," Gadkari said.
He said the Prime Minister pinned blame on the media and opposition parties for the scams facing the government. "There is a CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report, a decision of income tax tribunal... the media has exposed scandals," he said.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress government at the Centre, Gadkari said, “The Prime Minister is wrong in blaming the Opposition for stalling the Winter Session over its demand for a JPC probe into the 2G scam. After rejecting the demand for a JPC probe into the matter why is the UPA government agreeing to it now? The UPA government is actually responsible for the total washout of the Winter Session.”
However, the BJP chief reaffirmed that there will be no change in the party’s stand over the 2G scam and all major issues, and it will continue to fight against the corrupt and scam-tainted government at the Centre.
Taking a dig at Dr Singh for admitting that one has to make some compromises under coalition government, Gadkari said that Dr Singh had expressed his inability to check corruption in the name of coalition politics.
"The corruption department was outsourced... his remarks that the finance ministry had supported decisions taken regarding 2G spectrum showed that everybody was involved," he said.
“Our tallest leader AB Vajpayee also successfully managed the NDA coalition government, but never allowed major scams like 2G to happen during his tenure,” he added.
In a separate press conference, CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechuri said, “By partially accepting the failure to take some concrete steps to check the alleged wrong doings in major scams, the Prime Minister has today accepted that his government has indeed committed mistakes.”
Yechuri also told the reporters that the Congress disposition must take the blame for the total washout of the Winter Session since it repeatedly rejected the Opposition’s demand a for a JPC probe into the matter.
“The PM has been making confusing statements. On one hand he says that he is ready to appear before any committee in connection with the major scams like 2G, but on the other his party has been opposing the demands for a JPC probe. Now why at this juncture the government is giving signals that it is ready to accept the Opposition’s long pressed demand,” he said.
First Published: Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 14:09