Manmohan Singh hiding something: Arun Jaitley

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Monday criticized the Congress plenary session and said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is ?hiding? facts on 2G spectrujm allocation scam.

?The PM is hiding something, he is hiding the fact that the 2G spectrum took place in 2007 and huge sums of money were lost,? Jaitley said at a press conference here.

“He is hiding why he kept quiet for two years,” he said.

?The PM has to answer this to India’s Parliament or a committee of Indian parliament on why he kept quiet.

?He cannot come before Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which has limited power. The matter is now bigger, it is about how the telecom portfolio was given and whether corporates and their lobbyists had a role. PM has to answer all these,? said the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

Referring to Singh?s statement that he has ?nothing to hide from public?, Jaitlety said: ?If you have nothing to hide, you come upfront and answer before any forum. The answers cannot be given to a forum of your choice but to the Indian parliament or a committee of Indian parliament (meaning Joint Parliamentary Committee)

The BJP leader said corporates had big role in the 2G scam.

Jaitley came down heavily upon the Congress for ?focusing? more on BJP than itself at the plenary session.

?Congress plenary focuses more on BJP as if there is a BJP phobia,? he said.

?We generally don?t comment on another party session, but strangely in this plenary Congress is more focusing on BJP than on its own. Congress is on backfoot. It is displaying BJP phobia,? Jaitley said.

Earlier the day, Singh said no politician, however powerful, would be spared if found guilty of corrupt practices and even he himself is ready to appear before the PAC of Parliament for questioning in the 2G scam.

“I have nothing to hide from the public,” said Singh speaking at the plenary session of Congress at Burari here.

In an impassioned speech, he said he may have made mistakes but he has served the nation to the best of his ability, as he took on the Opposition BJP which demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G scam.

Referring to corruption with special mention of the Commonwealth Games and 2G spectrum allocation, the Prime Minister said no one, however powerful and from whatever party, will be spared.

He said “The enquires will be pursued vigorously and it is my promise that no guilty will be spared.”

“The CBI is looking into it [2G scam] and now this investigation will be monitored by the Supreme Court,” he said.

He said the CAG report goes to the PAC and he is ready to face happily the PAC headed by an opposition leader (BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi) if it chooses to ask him to appear.

He said his government will carefully consider the five-point suggestions by party president Sonia Gandhi on prevention of corruption.

“Soniaji has outlined our approaches. I wish to assure Soniaji that our government will pay careful attention to the five point agenda she suggested,” he said.

He said his government has always strived to eradicate corruption and “we will continue to do so in future.”

He also took potshots at the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying while Congress forced its chief ministers to step down on mere suspicion, the BJP has not done so despite “scandal after scandal.”

He said only Congress can take the country forward and if Congress is strong the nation is strong.

“I appeal to all to strengthen Congress. Give all your energy to strengthen it,” he told the Congress 83rd plenary gathering.

He said while the plenary is taking place at a time when various charges are levelled against the party and the government and being projected Congress as insensitive to corruption, his government will try to address the shortcomings in functioning.