Rudy’s Goa tab: Opp says he has to go, PM must probe

‘‘Although the report mentions Rudy saying that money has not yet been paid, we feel it’s a clear case of offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act because the motive was clear: to use public money for private purposes,’’ Sibal said.

‘‘Prime Minister Vajpayee always talks of principles, but when the time comes for action, he does not act because he is a soft-hearted man. We have seen that in the case of the Judeo tape expose, the land scam, the petrol pump scam.’’

‘‘We now urge that the Prime Minister restrain the Minister, though we are not too optimistic that he will,’’ Sibal said.

On the larger issue of misuse of PSUs, Sibal said, ‘‘The Prime Minister says that it is a good government as it has compromised on all principles. Because of this, the NDA government has now become an NPA (non-performing assets).’’

The CPI too demanded Rudy’s dismissal. In a statement, CPI national general secretary D Raja said that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had earlier brought to the notice of the Prime Minister instances of ‘‘misuse’’ of office by ministers, which the Prime Minister had later denied.

Charging BJP ministers with ‘‘looting’’ the state exchequer, Raja said Rudy had no right to continue in office.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said it was not proper for the Congress to level allegations against the minister when the party itself has been accused of accepting petro-products as bribe from the ousted Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq.

‘‘If there’s any authenticity in this report, the BJP will look into it in line with its track record. The Congress need not worry about it,’’ Naqvi said.