New Delhi, Sep 28: Demanding that ‘heads should roll' in the government over corruption, BJP today said Home Minister P Chidambaram is as culpable as A Raja in the 2G Spectrum scam and alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was protecting “tainted ministers”.
The party rejected the Prime Minister's contention that opposition was trying to destabilise the government, saying it did not have the numbers to do so but the “collapse” was taking place due to its own contradictions.
At a press conference held to take on the UPA government after Singh's statement yesterday, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley made a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, alleging that the files clearly show he had “full knowledge” and was not in the dark about the 2-G Spectrum allocation scam.
Demanding the resignation of Chidambaram, the BJP leaders said “the last word has not been said on 2G” and the “2G saga is continuing”.
“The March 25 note of the Finance Ministry accessed through RTI shows clearly para by para that the then Finance Minister (P Chidambaram) not only had the knowledge but it had his approval as well,” Swaraj said.
“So the wrongdoings committed by Raja have also been committed by Chidambaram,” she added. She alleged that UPA was following a “unique coalition dharma” where when a coalition partner is guilty he is trapped while when a Congress leader is guilty he is saved.
“The Prime Minister should save his house instead of blaming the opposition... He should not heap all the blame for this on the opposition and give a clean chit to his ministers,” Swaraj said.
Joining issue with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, BJP said the Opposition was doing nothing to destabilise the government and if it falls, it will be because of its own contradictions.
“We do not have the numbers to destabilise the government. We do not even need to destabilise the government. It is collapsing under its own contradictions,” Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told a press conference here.
The BJP's remarks came against the backdrop of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accusing certain “forces” of trying to destabilise polity and blaming a “restless Opposition” of attempting to force early elections.
“As a responsible Opposition, we are asking questions. But they are blaming us... It (government) is collapsing under its own contradictions,” Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said addressing the press conference along with Jaitley.
Jaitley said the government was on a shaky wicket as it was facing a crisis of credibility and leadership. “If the Prime Minister has confidence in tainted ministers, the country is bound to lose confidence in the Prime Minister,” he said.
The BJP leader also sought to contest the Prime Minister's claim that there were no dissensions in his Cabinet, saying the government's handling of Anna Hazare's
agitation was proof enough. PTI
