Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari has blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi for the corruption in the country. Addressing the closing session of the one-day All-India Lawyers' Conference organised by the legal and legislative cell of the BJP here on Sunday, he accused the Congress-led UPA government of using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as an instrument to frighten and browbeat alliance partners and political opponents.
Stating that the Prime Minister owed moral responsibility for the 2G spectrum and Commonwealth Games scams as the files related to the two matters “were approved by Dr. Singh,” Mr. Gadkari said, “why did the Prime Minister remain silent and not know that something was wrong.”
The “DMK alone was not responsible for the Rs.1.76 lakh-crore 2G spectrum scam,” he added.
While supporting the inquiry against CWG committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, Mr. Gadkari claimed that all the files were approved by the Prime Minister.
He dubbed Ms. Gandhi's support to social activist Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption as a “political drama” ( natak ).
Referring to the CBI, he said the investigating agency's credibility was under a cloud and that it would not be inappropriate to describe it as the “Congress Bureau of Investigation.”
The BJP chief alleged that the affidavits related to the cases against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her predecessor, Mulayam Singh, were changed by the agency. He said the CBI was being used by the government to frighten its allies for “staying in power.” Mr. Gadkari said the U-turn by the agency had brought its credibility under the scanner.
Describing terrorism and Naxalism as the biggest dangers before the country, Mr. Gadkari slammed the government for not carrying out the death sentence awarded to Afzal Guru by the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court's order was the final word, it is yet to be carried out after six years of the verdict.” Mr. Gadkari said.
He also criticised AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, albeit without naming him, for his visit to Azamgarh to meet the relatives of the accused in the Batla House encounter and his recent statement following the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
“Appeasement of terror acts was governed by the vote bank politics,” Mr. Gadkari said.
In an obvious reference to Binayak Sen, the BJP chief assailed the Centre for nominating a “Naxal sympathiser on a central panel.”
Mr. Gadkari said poverty, price rise and the pathetic state of the farmers were the result of the wrong economic policies and bad governance of the Congress since 1947. “In contrast, the BJP-ruled states were synonymous with good governance and development.”
