2G scam: PM should respond to Supreme Court’s observation, says Advani

PATNA - Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani on Wednesday demanded that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should immediately respond to Supreme Court’s remarks about the 11-month long-silence and inaction in responding to a plea for prosecution of former Telecom Minister A. Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

“Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on spectrum was made public, though we were aware of the issue earlier, but the report was formally presented yesterday in Parliament. On the same day, the Supreme Court made serious comments on the Prime Minister and the PMO. I cannot recall that in the last 60 years the Supreme Court has ever commented on Prime Minister’s Office,” said Advani.

“The Prime Minister should immediately respond to what the Supreme Court has said on Raja issue. We are demanding a JPC probe into the issue in Parliament and the government should think on it. Corruption should be eliminated from the country,” he added, while addressing the media persons here today before leaving for campaigning for the last phase of Bihar Assembly polls.

Earlier on Tuesday, the apex court asked the Government to explain why the Prime Minister took eleven months in taking a decision on a plea for sanction of prosecution of the former Telecom Minister in the controversial 2G spectrum allocation issue.

“Can the sanctioning authority (Prime Minister in this case) sit on the complaint,” said an apex court bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly on hearing a petition filed by Janata Party President and former Law Minister Subramaniam Swamy, who had sought sanction for the prosecution of Raja.

Advani further said price rise and inflation were one of the main issues raised by the Opposition in the Parliament.

“Corruption has now become an important issue as three major scams had surfaced,” he said.

Raja was forced to resign on Sunday night under considerable pressure from the Congress, which has been attacked in Parliament by a united Opposition for corruption. (ANI)