The BJP on Wednesday accused the Prime Minister of having failed to check graft and trying to cover up corruption scandals while attempting to use coalition dharma as a shield for himself. At a press conference soon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs interaction with editors of news channels,BJP president Nitin Gadkari said,The Prime Ministers press conference was very disappointing. It demonstrated his helplessness. Coalition dharma cannnot mean support to corruption. coalition dharma does not mean outsourcing governments decision to allies.. Except 2G issue,which coalition is to be blamed for other instances of corruption? Gadkari held the Prime Minister directly responsible for not acting tough right at the beginning of the process of 2G spectrum allocation. There is a well-planned attempt to cover up corruption. Even if a GoM looks into a matter,he (Prime Minister) is responsible for all the governments decisions. It is not only moral responsibility,but everything rests with the Prime Minister. Was just writing a letter once (to Raja) his solution?..This is his failure, Gadkari charged. By the way,coalition (partner) was involved only in 2G spectrum allocation. Where is the coalition involved in cases like ISRO (S-band spectrum allocation),Commonwealth Games,and Adarsh cases? In fact,for the first time the PM has said all decisions taken by A Raja had the support of the Finance Minister. That means it was not only DMK that was involved,the Congress was also involved, he said,trying to puncture holes in the PMs clarifications. An effective PM needed to act tough. He has failed. He may feel helpless,but not the BJP. We will continue our fight against graft, Gadkari asserted. The BJP president mocked the PM,saying the BJP appreciated his honesty in admitting helplessness. He has accepted with an open heart that he is helpless,not able to take decisions,there is pressure of coalition partners,and (he is) not able to stop this corruption. This is a very honest expression from him. I appreciate it, Gadkari said. On the target today was the media,judiciary and Opposition. If the PM is to be believed,it is the media,judiciary and the Opposition that has to be blamed for all the ills plaguing the government now, Gadkari said. He also attacked the PM for referring to food and fertiliser subsidies to explain the nuances related to 2G spectrum valuations. It is shocking to compare a scam with the subsidies for poor. With Prime Minister acknowledging that the government was in talks with the Opposition to break the logjam in Parliament over their demand for JPC,Gadkari indicated that the BJP was negotiating with the government to broaden the terms of references of the proposed JPC to include all cases of corruption under the ambit of inquiry of the parliamentary panel. The government has only given an indication and it has yet not announced its decision (to constitute JPC), Gadkari said on whether the BJP would not stall the Budget session of Parliament.
