Cong to serve notice on Govt; wants Rajiv’s name withdrawn

Earlier during the day, Sonia told reporters that her husband was innocent and the BJP Government had “deliberately” put his name in the chargesheet to continue its campaign for maligning him. The party president and CPP leader added there was nothing substantial against Rajiv in the chargesheet.

Sources said the party would place its demand for withdrawing Rajiv’s name before the Government in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and wait for the former’s reaction before deciding its course of action. The party’s strategy is apparently to play safe initially and put the ball in the Government’s court on the Bofors issue. With the Parliament to commence a debate on the President’s address on Tuesday, the party may not want to jump the gun.

The Congress stance has put a question mark on the fate of key economic bills related to patents, IRA, FEMA and money laundering which the Government has planned to introduce in this session.

The party refrained from creating much noise in Parliament today in view of the President’s address to the joint session of both houses.

“We are for constructive opposition. But if they indulge in politics in each and everything and will not delete Rajiv’s name from column II of the chargesheet, then there will be problems in cooperation. How can there be a consensus?” party spokesperson Kapil Sibal told journalists today.

He indicated that the Government could no longer take its support on key economic bills for granted. “Although the Congress is committed to national interest, it will have to decide its stand on these bills in view of the Government’s attempt to play political games to malign the party,” Sibal said.

“You will see from tomorrow,” Sibal shot back when asked what the party’s course of action would be in Parliament. He accused the Government of starting on a wrong note and vitiating the political atmosphere.

The Congress Parliamentary Party is to meet informally on Tuesday to chalk out its strategy on the Bofors issue.

Sibal justified the demand for removal of Rajiv’s name from the chargesheet on the ground that no judge has the right to try a person who is dead. “If you cannot try a person, prosecute and convict him, then why is his name included as an accused?” Sibal, an eminent lawyer, said.

He asserted that neither the CBI nor any other agency had interrogated Rajiv for 10 years on the Bofors gun deal. “For 10 years, they were telling lies that Rajiv had taken money in the deal,” Sibal said, “adding that now when the chargesheet has finally been filed, it clearly does not name the former prime minister as having been a recipient of the kickbacks.