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‘PM, Sonia must clarify stand on cash-for-vote’
BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Saturday felicitated its whistleblowers in the cash-for-vote scam even as they demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi clarify their stand on the matter.
The BJP whistleblowers will on Sunday participate in Advani’s rally here, which marks the culmination of his yatra on good governance and clean politics.
Speaking at the programme to felicitate Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora, along with L K Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni and party worker Suhail Hindustani, Gadkari said injustice had been done to these five people as they were incarcerated for days for no fault.
“The Delhi High Court has said that it could not find any prima facie evidence against them...These people were in jail even during Diwali...Why were they kept in jail? This is not somebody's fiefdom," Gadkari said.
Attacking the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson on the cash-for-vote scam during the 2008 trust vote, he said, “19 MPs were bought and sold. Can such a Prime Minister be called honest? Can Sonia Gandhi clarify if this was done with her permission or not?” Gadkari asked.
Congress, however, challenged this contention with party spokesperson Rashid Alvi taunting the BJP saying, "The Opposition party will welcome even BS Yeddyurappa who was in jail over corruption cases.”
Alleging that Congress was involved in the cash-for-vote scam and was a beneficiary of the same, Gadkari said the ruling party’s stand on the issue was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
"Such a Prime Minister cannot be called honest. He should clarify whether it was carried out with his permission," Gadkari said. BJP announced that it will take up the issue of corruption both inside Parliament in the forthcoming session as well as on the streets through protests and demonstrations.
For her part, Swaraj said the two leaders and Hindustani were in jail for 72 days while Kulkarni had to spend 52 days in Tihar.
"Their bail is just a stop and not the final destination. We will not rest till we reach our goal... The honour being bestowed on these leaders should have been done by the government on the day they exposed the corruption," Swaraj said.
