With the Opposition gunning for the government over leaked U.S. cables on the 2008 trust vote, the Congress on Thursday slammed the BJP and other parties for disrupting Parliament over the issue.
“The whole world has rejected the WikiLeaks reports.
Because if a diplomat is writing to his own sovereign government I do not think any government can take responsibility for it,” Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said, and demanded an apology from the opposition members for their conduct in Parliament.
Parliament was disrupted over the leaked U.S. diplomatic cables about alleged payoffs to win trust vote in 2008 with Opposition demanding resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“You cannot stall the functioning of Parliament for this and you are not letting the Minister speak. Opposition particularly BJP should tender an apology to the government for its conduct in the House,” Mr. Shukla told reporters outside Parliament.
He said, “These are (WikiLeaks cables) internal communications between the embassies and their respective governments. These are diplomatic channels. How can other government take responsibility for that,” he asked.
Demanding resignation of the UPA government, BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said, “After today’s publication of WikiLeaks this government has no moral right to be in office even for a minute.
“We demand immediate resignation of the government.
The entire government must go lock stock and barrel.”
The CPI(M) has demanded registration of a case in the ’cash-for-vote’ scam following the WikiLeaks expose. The party termed it as a “gross act of political malfeasance and bribery” and said the Congress leadership cannot escape responsibility.
In a statement, the party Polit Bureau said the report sent by U.S. Charge d’Affaires Steven White should be the basis for filing an FIR and initiating an investigation against Satish Sharma and his aide Nachiketa Kapur, who were named in the diplomatic cable.
“The Congress leadership, including the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh), cannot escape their responsibility in this gross act of political malfeasance and bribery”, the statement said.
