Have nothing to hide: PM says willing to appear before PAC
Mangalore Today News
New Delhi, Dec 20: Under full frontal assault for a variety of scams especially the 2G spectrum scam, the Prime Minister has stressed his government’s commitment to integrity, warning that "nobody guilty will be spared- irrespective of which party he belongs to and how powerful he may be."
Dr Manmohan Singh was addressing the Congress Plenary Session at Burari near Delhi. His entire speech was devoted to defending the allegations against him and his government in the 2G scam.
His remark that nobody would be spared in a thorough inquiry was a clear reference to former Telecom Minister A Raja, whose party, the DMK, is a crucial ally of the government’s, and is reportedly not happy with the raids that have been conducted against some of the party’s closest associates as the CBI tries to circle in on Raja. The 2G scam, estimated to be worth 1.76 lakh crores by the government’s auditor, paralyzed Parliament through its entire winter session, allowing less than 10 hours of work.
Rejecting again the Opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the scam, the PM said that it is wrong to suggest that the government does not want a JPC because it will have the power to summon him. Therefore, he said, he "will write to chairman of the Public Accounts Committee to say I will be happy to appear before it if they ask me to do so, even though there is no precedent to that affect."
The PAC is headed by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, and has begun questioning bureaucrats and others associated with the controversial allocation of 2G in 2008, where licenses were allegedly given to new telecom companies at bargain basement prices.
"The PM like Caesar’s wife, should be above suspicion, " said Dr Singh, adding that he "has nothing to hide."
The PM also took a shot at the BJP which has refused to sack Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa despite his being accused of a series of illegal land deals, brokered to benefit his family.
"Charges are being leveled against our party and our government. Our record has been questioned...it is being alleged that we are not sensitive to the issue of corruption. On this count...I wish to make our stand clear...we have asked Chief Ministers to step down merely on the basis of suspicion...we are not like some opposition parties that allow tainted Chief Ministers to stay in office."
The PM also vowed to implement the five-point agenda for fighting corruption laid out by Sonia Gandhi in her speech at the plenary session on Sunday. Among other measures, she advocated setting up a fast-track court to deal with public officials accused of corruption. She also said that she wants Congress ministers and chief ministers to surrender discretionary rights especially for land allocation.
On Sunday, Mrs Gandhi had delivered a spirited defense of the PM, praising him for "his wide leadership, for remaining calm amidst the storm...the party remains solidly with him," she said, stressing that the BJP’s attack against him has been "despicable."
The PM has been a soft target for the Opposition this winter, as a series of scams bubbled up to the surface, exposing the relentless corruption that lay beneath the Adarsh Building Society, the Commonwealth Games, and the 2G scam.
The first saw the former chief minister of Maharashtra resigning after it was revealed that three of his relatives were among those who cornered discounted flats in a high-rise in Mumbai intended for war widows and defense veterans. The Commonwealth Games saw officials in charge of organizing the event abusing their rights and offices to award contracts to companies that grossly over-charged for the products and services they provided. But it’s the third- the2G scam - that has assaulted the senses of a nation for whom governmental corruption is not usually a bolt of lightning.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) laid out in its report a seething inquest of the scam, showing how bureaucrats and Raja allegedly colluded to show undue favour companies that lied or misrepresented basic information in their applications for 2G licenses
The Supreme Court is now monitoring the CBI’s inquiry into the scam.