Cong claims high ground over PM's PAC offer

Congress on Monday claimed moral high ground over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's offer to appear before the Public Accounts Committee in 2G spectrum issue, and utilised the opportunity to paint both the Left and the BJP black on corruption.

"Prime Minister has said that he has nothing to hide. The National Democratic Alliance and particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party was alleging that the government is not accepting the JPC demand as Prime Minister does not want to appear before it. Prime Minister has today taken the initiative by offering to appear before the PAC headed by a leader of opposition BJP, Murli Manohar Joshi. Now if BJP and NDA have no trust in Joshi, what can we do?" party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told mediapersons in New Delhi.

Raising the issue of corruption in BJP-ruled Karnataka and Communist Party of India-Marxist-ruled Kerala, Ahmed said, "It appears Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has given half of the state to his sons, daughters and son-in laws."

".Allegations were levelled against CPI-M general secretary Pinnarai Vijayan in Kerala. Did any resignation happen? In a way the party disowned its own chief minister there. And even after all this, these people talk of moral and values. What can be said," Ahmed said.

Congress has on the contrary taken action on mere allegations even before anything was proved, Ahmed said and named former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Secretary of Congress Parliamentary Party Suresh Kalmadi as examples, who had to resign from their posts after controversy over Adarsh Housing Society and CWG irregularities.

The Congress leader at the same time utilised the occasion to distance the party from Kalmadi saying the latter had not become the Chairman of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on account of being a Congress MP.

Replying to a question, Ahmed made it clear that the party was not asking its ministers to follow the precedent set by the Prime Minister.

"No one has forced the Prime Minister to offer himself for scrutiny. It was Prime Minister's own decision to appear before the PAC. There is question of forcing any minister to follow suit," he said.

On the Niira Radia issue, he attacked the BJP asking it to "come clean" after media reports showed its senior leaders and former Telecom Ministers of NDA in picture with the lobbyist.

"We have seen photographs of a very senior BJP leader flanked by Radia and many telecom ministers belonging to BJP. BJP should come clean on that. They should explain their connection with Niira before asking any Congress leader or the UPA government about it," Ahmed said.