Mumbai, 18 March (Asiantribune): The UPA government led by Prme Minister Manmohan Singh already facing flak for a chain of scams, faced a fresh problem on Thursday with the leaked WikiLeaks secret cables alleging that the Congress paid Rs 10 crore to opposition MPs to win a Parliament trust vote in 2008. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leader LK Advani Thursday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to quit forthwith and said he had lost the right to govern after the exposure. The NDA demands that this government has no moral right to continue and it should quit, the BJP senior leader told reporters in New Delhi as Parliament plunged into turmoil over the WikiLeaks cables carried by The Hindu. Accusing the Congress-led government of political immorality, the former deputy PM said: UPA-I survived on the strength of political sin. The PM has no moral authority or legitimacy to lead the country. He must quit forthwith. However, unfazed by the united opposition attack over WikiLeaks reports, the Congress dismissed demands for Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs resignation, accusing its detractors of indulging in irresponsible politics and destabilising the country. Hailing Singh as a spotless prime minister, party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the reports on US diplomatic cables were unverified leaks without any corroborative authentication and outlandish allegations not worth dignifying with a response. The published US embassy cable said that an American diplomat was shown a huge quantity of money by Nachiketa Kapur, described as a political aide to Congress leader Satish Sharma, meant to be given to MPs to vote for the government. Some MPs, Kapur allegedly told the diplomat, had already been paid money. Advani pointed out that the 2008 Parliament trust vote related to the controversial India-US civil nuclear deal that threatened to topple Manmohan Singhs government when he headed the first UPA alliance. The American embassy was interested in the vote of confidence, the BJP leader said, and described the Congress as a friendly party in American view. Advani rubbished Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjees argument that a matter related to the earlier Lok Sabha could not be raised in the present Lok Sabha. The finance ministers defence in the Rajya Sabha that diplomatic immunity prevents the government from investigating the cables is of no avail. The diplomatic immunity extends to protecting the secrecy of the cable. The cable has already been released to the public. The diplomatic immunity does not extend to protect an Indian offender who has committed an act of bribery in India, he said. Advani also rubbished Mukherjees second defence that the offence has nothing to do with the 15th Lok Sabha as it occurred during the 14th Lok Sabha and that the bribery was committed outside Parliament. From stinking scams to suicides or maybe something else, there seem to be no end to the scandals and stink that accompanies this government. These allegations of corruption shall continue till it (UPA II) is in power, he said. Left parties too questioned the silence of Prime Minister in the wake of fresh WikiLeaks expose. The party also demanded registration of a case in the cash-for-vote scam. In a statement, the party Polit Bureau said the report sent by US Charge dAffaires Steven White should be the basis for filing an FIR and initiating an investigation against Satish Sharma and his aide Nachiketa Kapur, who were named in the diplomatic cable. The WikiLeaks expose, published in a news daily, confirmed what the Left parties had been saying in 2008 that MPs were bribed to vote in favour of the government, Yechury said. It is a humongous indictment of the Congress and the UPA government, Sitaram Yechury said and demanded an investigation into the matter by the CBI. With the Opposition gunning for the government over a WikiLeak cable, the Congress counter-attacked the BJP and other parties for disrupting Parliament over the issue. The cable, sent in July 2008, alleges that the Congress bought MPs to survive a vote of confidence over the governments controversial nuclear deal with the US. The whole world has rejected the WikiLeaks reports. Because if a diplomat is writing to his own sovereign government I do not think any government can take responsibility for it, Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said. He demanded an apology from opposition members for their conduct in Parliament. Satish Sharma denied having any aide named Kapur. - Asian Tribune -
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 05:32:12 +0000
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