Sack Bhardwaj if you didn’t know, says BJP

He demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explain whether the Law Minister’s “instructions” to CBI to move on defreezing the accounts was with his (PM’s) “knowledge and consent”.

“The Law Ministry, the Law Minister and the Law Officer (Additional Solicitor General B Dutta) are culpable. The documents are in the possession of Express, it has answered one of our questions.”

“We raised two questions before the nation: whether the CBI is also of the opinion that there is no case for prosecution against Quattrocchi and second whether the Prime Minister is in the knowledge of and privy to the decision. The first question has been answered by the Express. The CBI wanted the prosecution to continue against the Italian businessman but the Law Minister says there is no evidence against Quattrocchi,’’ Jaitley said. “Disclosures made in The Indian Express have thrown up a very vital issue. It appears that the CBI was of the categorical opinion that there is sufficient material to prosecute Quattrocchi. The political executive of the Government of India has absolutely no role to play in the matter”, he said. He added, “The relationship of Quattrocchi with the chairperson of the UPA (Sonia Gandhi) is a ground for suspicion and certainly not a ground for discharge”.

If the move to defreeze Quattrocchi’s accounts was without his knowledge and consent, then the PM should accept that he “is a person occupying an office without power”, Jaitley said, suggesting that the real power of the UPA government lay elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today directed that a petition challenging the move to defreeze the Quattrocchi accounts and the Law Minister’s clean chit to him should come in the “normal course” for hearing. “What is the urgency in the matter? Let the petition first be listed for mentioning”, a bench presided by CJI Y K Sabharwal said when petitioner-counsel Ajay Agarwal mentioned the petition during the mention hour of the court for an urgent hearing.

Agarwal also sought notices from the court to be issued to Bhardwaj so that he explain his role in “directing” the CBI in the matter. This petition is likely to come up for hearing next week.