New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is once again in the dock after ex-Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai made stinging allegations against him in the 2G spectrum case, questioning his integrity as the PM. "Integrity is not just financial; it is intellectual integrity; it is professional integrity. You have an oath of allegiance to the constitution and that is important," Raid said in an interview.
Rai, who is writing a book on his days as head of CAG suggested that Singh was more interested in remaining in power. Being extremely critical of the UPA government, he said his phone was tapped by the Centre and he felt Singh was part of the decisions to allocate 2G telecom spectrum on first-cum-first serve basis and coal blocks without auction.
"...in 2G and coal there is no way he (Singh) can shirk responsibility. In 2G all the letters written by (then telecom Minister) A Raja were to him and he was replying to those letters. I got no reply to any letter I wrote to him.
As Rai's revelations sent ripples across the political spectrum and the spotlight was once again on Manmohan Singh, Congress rushed to the defence of the former PM. "So far as the 2G case is concerned, the developments in the telecom sector between 1995 and 2009 were looked at extensively by the joint parliamentary committee. The committee in its report has debunked the theory that was put out by the then CAG. There is nothing that Manmohan Singh has to answer for," said former I&B Minister and Congress leader Manish Tewari.
However, a shocker came from senior party leader Kamal Nath who claimed that he had warned Singh over the 2G spectrum allocations. "I did write a letter to the PM warning him of the allocations in 2G. It is already in the government files," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party does not plan to let Congress party breathe easy on the matter. Minister Prakash Javadekar targeted Singh for choosing to ignore his Cabinet colleague's (Kamal Nath) warnings and for allowing scams to happen under his nose, resulting in a huge dent to the country's exchequer.
The party is now demanding Congress to speak up on the matter. "Former CAG Vinod Rai's disclosures are very serious and we demand that the Congress leadership should come forward and reply because the allegations are against the Congress leadership and then Prime Minister," said Javadekar.
"BJP takes serious note of the interview given (to a media organisation) by the former CAG which reveals many things. It establishes our charge that former Prime Minister knew of every scam that happened in the UPA... He cannot plead ignorance. BJP knows very well that the former Prime Minister was in office but not in power. The power was with the party leadership, with 10 Janpath (Sonia Gandhi's residence). This dual centres of has hurt the nation," he added.
Javadekar also termed as "very serious" Rai's allegations that his phone was tapped and three Congress MPs put pressures on him for not naming the former Prime Minister in his report. He rubbished the demand of Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam for a narco test on Rai.
(With inputs from PTI)
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