BJP ups ante, wants "role" of PM in 2G to be probed

New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI) Stepping up its attack on the 2G
issue, the main opposition BJP on Saturday said the "role" of
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the spectrum allocation
should be also probed in the wake of the controversy
surrounding Home Minister P Chidambaram.
"If the Prime Minister's role is not inquired into, then
we will not be able to do justice," senior BJP leader Yashwant
Sinha said, and demanded that the court should order an
enquiry into Chidambaram's "role" as well as that of the Prime
Minister.
Taking a swipe at Chidambaram, Sinha, a former Finance
Minister, said his place is in the same cell in Tihar jail in
which the former Telecom Minister A Raja has been lodged.
Congress said Sinha's swipes at Chidambaram were highly
condemnable with its senior leader Digvijay Singh alleging
that the Home Minister was being targeted by the RSS after he
acted against Sanghi terror.
"Chidambaram is a man of integrity, a man of competence
and there is no question of any charges against him," the AICC
General Secretary said while putting up a strong defence of
his party colleague.
Singh said "BJP should look into its own "backyard" first
before leveling allegations against others...particularly when
it is against an able and competent Minister like
Chidambaram."
He said it is unjustified and incorrect to level
allegations against Chidambaram after a Finance Ministry note
to the Prime Minister's Office submitted to the Supreme Court
suggested that the 2G scam could have been avoided had the
former Finance Minister insisted on the auction route.
Congress sources said the note was a "routine"
communication and the Opposition was making a "mountain out of
molehill".
The sources also hinted that the Government would clarify
the matter and added there was nothing wrong if a formulation
by an official on the issue was sent by the Finance ministry
to the PMO.
Earlier, Sinha, said, "There is so much evidence that has
come out against P Chidambaram in the 2-G spectrum case that
for CBI to say in court now that he is not guilty would be
laughable. Chidambaram's place is in the same cell in Tihar
jail in which A Raja has been lodged."
Sinha was equally scathing against the Prime Minister,
charging he was fully in the know of the developments in the
2-G Spectrum allocation all along.
"If today I have any admiration for A Raja it is for the
fact that he kept the Prime Minister informed at every step.
He wrote a letter to the Prime Minister whenever a new
development took place," he said.
He insisted that about 20-30 questions needed to be asked
from the Prime Minister on this issue.
"If after all this, the Prime Minister kept silent then it
would not be considered as silence but consent. If this
touches Chidambaram, the Prime Minister knows he cannot be
untouched," Sinha added.
CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said a "very serious
charge" has been levelled against Chidambaram by the Finance
Ministry and demanded a thorough probe into his role.
Asked whether Chidambaram should now quit, he said
"when the investigation begins, then the question of his
resignation will come up. First, the horse and then the horse
cart".