Arun Jaitley, the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, on Sunday said “corruption is the main agenda in upcoming lok Sabha election. And, Chandigarh residents would play a vital role in rooting out corruption from the country.”
He said “Chandigarh Parliamentary constituency is an indicator of the national mood and this time, the whole country will be looking towards Chandigarh to see if the city voters will take a moral high ground and root out the corrupt.”
Addressing the first executive meeting of BJP Chandigarh here on Sunday, the senior BJP leader said that upcoming lok Sabha election will not just be a political fight but a “Dharam Yudh” between morality and immorality. It is unfortunate that an important and respected city like Chandigarh was brought on the country’s centre stage due to the corruption of its elected MP and former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
lashing out at the UPA, Jaitley said that the Government may have manipulated the CBI but there is a clear overlap in the Railgate phone conversations and the file movements. It seems the whole Bansal family was running an industry of postings and promotions, he added.He said “Congress has been misusing the CBI to not only save its ministers and other Congressmen but also keep itself in power. Every time the Congress Government needed numbers for survival, the CBI suddenly went soft on the SP and BSP leaders under investigation for disproportionate assets.”
“Congress should remember that CBI does not get votes, it is the people who vote and the mood of the people is clearly with BJP,” added he.
Talking about the corruption unleashed in the country, Jaitley said, “With 2G, Coal Scam, Railgate etc running into several lakhs of crores, the Congress has indulged in “crony capitalism” and Congressmen has become “name lenders” and “renteers” as in the Coal Scam where the Coal blocks were allotted with name chits being passed onto the screening committee. So large has been the degradation that even the status report submitted to the Supreme Court was fudged to safe those from the PMO and the Coal Ministry.”
Expressing disappointment over the worsening economic situation of the country, he said, “During Vajpayee’s Government, India was the target destination for FDI. However, today even Indian businessmen are not willing to invest in the country. In such circumstances, irrespective of the policy changes being made FDI is not going to come. With the current account deficit having become unmanageable, instead of working to improve the economy, the Congress wants to open the coffers to buy votes and bank corrupt the country before they go,” he alleged.
Pointing towards the strained relations of India with its neighboring countries, Jaitley said, “Our borders have become porous and our relations with neighbours have touched a nadir. Pakistan can behead our Jawans, spread terrorism in our country still the Prime Minister extends the hand of friendship.”He reminded that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee had initiated peace talks with Pakistan they were on the pre-condition that there would be no terrorism against India emanating from the Pakistan soil which was accepted by Pakistan.
“Under these circumstances of failure on all fronts, there is no leadership in Congress to inspire or infuse confidence, and it seems to be ducking a political fight by going without a head,” added Jaitley.