Surat: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its relentless campaign not to welcome the firm steps taken by the government to crack down on corruption by demanding the resignations of former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and former law and justice minister Ashwani Kumar.
He said that it has become a habit of the opposition party not to welcome anything.
"It has become a habit of the BJP to unwelcome everything," Khurshid told media here.
"At least they should welcome the resignation (of Pawan Bansal) and the CBI inquiry, they don’t even want to welcome this," he added.
Despite the Congress-led UPA Government dropping Bansal and Ashwani Kumar from the Union Cabinet and giving the additional charge of Railway Ministry and Law Ministry to C. P. Joshi and Kapil Sibal, the BJP on Saturday said the changes of faces as such doesn``t really assure the people of India on the issue of corruption, and it would now prefer a wait and watch approach.
"We will wait and see how they perform and how they really act. Lets wait and watch, but we caution them with our utmost strength that any wrongdoing on their part in future will bring even a more stronger reaction from the people of India and Bharatiya Janata Party will be standing in front with the people of India against the corruption issue," said BJP spokesperson Captain Abhimanyu.
Meanwhile, Bansal, whose nephew Vijay Singla was caught while accepting a Rs.90 lakh bribe for organising a cash-for-jobs transfer of a senior railway board official Mahesh Kumar, insisted that he had done no wrong.
"I welcome the CBI probe. I gave a statement right after the incident that I have nothing to do with this. Also, that I have no business relationship with my nephew. The truth will come out," Bansal said.
Singla was arrested last Friday while taking the bribe.
In his resignation letter, Bansal had maintained that he was not aware that Singla was in contact with Kumar, but he still thought it proper to step down.
ANI
