The BJP on Wednesday described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's press conference with editors of the electronic media as an attempt to ‘cover up' various scams and said the interaction reflected his helplessness.
Talking to journalists here, BJP president Nitin Gadkari questioned Dr. Singh's rationale that the problems faced by his government were due to the compulsions of coalition politics, and said ‘coalition dharma' could not be an excuse for supporting corruption. At the same time, Mr. Gadkari appreciated the Prime Minister's honest admission that he was helpless in the face of pressure from coalition partners.
The BJP chief said coalition politics pertained only to 2G telecom licences, and wondered what was the connection between coalition and the cases of ISRO's allocation of S-band, the Commonwealth Games and the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
“The Prime Minister's press conference was very disappointing and shows his helplessness. Coalition dharma cannot mean support to corruption …. In a way, an effort has been made to cover up the corruption. He has accused the media and the Opposition of spreading misinformation while maintaining that all is well. He has expressed his helplessness.”
The BJP chief said that for the first time the Prime Minister had accepted that all decisions on 2G were taken by the former Minister, A. Raja, and asked whether it made any sense to ‘outsource' an entire department in the name of coalition dharma.
‘Charge laughable'
Mr. Gadkari said it was unfair to blame the Opposition for disruption of the winter session of Parliament and putting the brakes on economic reforms. He dubbed “laughable” Dr. Singh's charge that the BJP was attacking the government to vent its anger over the action taken against a Gujarat Minister (Amit Shah).
On the Prime Minister's statement that he was willing to face any committee, including the Joint Parliamentary Committee, on award of 2G licences, Mr. Gadkari wanted to know what prevented him from agreeing to a JPC probe earlier.
“On the JPC issue also, he has tried to blame the Opposition for not allowing Parliament to function. If today the government has indicated that it is ready to think on a JPC, then why did it waste one month [winter session]?”
'Unfair comparison'
The BJP chief said the Prime Minister had accepted that he had completely failed to check corruption and maintained that as head of Group of Ministers, he could not escape responsibility. Mr. Gadkari said the comparison of the 2G spectrum prices with subsidy for fertilizers, gas and oil and foodgrains was unfair. The 2G spectrum allocation was not a subsidy but a way of making money.
