Deeply embarrassed over the Supreme Court scathing criticism of CBI and PMO officials as well as law Minister Ashwani Kumar for vetting CBI’s status report, the Congress on Wednesday left it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to deal with the growing demand for the law Minister’s resignation.
But the party defended Singh from BJP’s attack claiming that the Prime Minister had not given any kind of order to change the CBI status report.
According to the sources, the top leadership of the party and the Prime Minister will discuss the Supreme Court order and take a final decision about the fate of not only law Minister but also Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, whose nephew has been caught by CBI in the cash-for-job scam, will be taken in the next few days.
Already signs of division between the party and the Government on the issue have started emerging with Congress president Sonia Gandhi reportedly being distressed by the impact these controversies on the party’s image. Moreover, the Karnataka Assembly polls results despite being favourable has brought home the fact to the Congress that delayed action on corruption charge affects the party’s electoral fortune as it had happened to the BJP in the State.
So, the Prime Minister hoped that now that with Parliament Session coming to an end, the matter will be resolved soon. Interestingly, Singh, who has been staunchly defending the law Minister, described corruption as a “major issue” and said “all sections of the society” should sit together to find a solution to the problem.
latching on his statement, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury said, “I respect the fact that the Prime Minister played by the rules of natural justice and he waited till there is evidence. He is on record today; he has categorically stated that he is aware of the facts of the case and that he will find a solution. I think we should wait.”
She, however, strongly rejected the suggestion about Prime Minister’s involvement in the controversial exercise of making changes in the CBI’s draft report, saying, “Several individuals have come forward to say that they have full faith that it is not the Prime Minister, who gave any kind of orders for changing any kind of report. I do not think he is involved directly.”
Dismissing BJP’s demand that PM should resign on moral ground, Renuka said that the country needs his guidance as was evident from Chinese incursion and Kudankulam issue. Advising not to cast aspersions against the PM, she also downplayed the controversy over the meeting between the CBI and the Joint Secretaries of PMO and Coal Ministry.
“The fact of the matter is that nothing new was initiated. Officers and the CBI were interacting over several months to ensure the process of investigation, where procurement of files, relevant papers and due diligence have to be applied. It was only because of this that it was necessitated for the CBI to access (the papers),” she said.
However, the party is sensitive to what the court is saying. “We have taken note of various suggestions and the valuable inputs that they have given, which will go a long way in streamlining and facilitating future investigations,” she said.