'Will Manmohan Singh draw the right lessons?'

Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday described the Supreme Court's latest observations in the 2G spectrum case as the "second indictment" of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Chief Vigilance Commissioner fiasco and hoped that he will now draw the "right lessons" and not defend any corrupt minister.

"Today's verdict of the Supreme Court is a severe indictment of the UPA government, particularly the functioning of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The application seeking prosecution of then Telecom Minister A Raja was kept pending for 16 months," BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He alleged that during that period, Singh gave "vague replies" to questions on Raja and insisted the CBI is looking into the matter.

"The prime minister then gave certificates of innocence to Raja and talked of coalition compulsions. Now, when the Supreme Court talks of a timeframe of three months- extendable by another month, it is a new milestone in the fight against corruption," Prasad said.

The party insisted that no prime minister can defend a corrupt minister in the face of available evidence.

"Will Manmohan Singh draw the right lessons? He had suffered severe embarrassment in the case of CVC P J Thomas. This is his second indictment," Prasad alleged.

BJP also sought to know if the Singh-led UPA government will permit an "honest investigation" into the role of then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam.

"There is voluminous evidence available against Chidambaram. Had he acted promptly and accepted the advice of his officers, huge amounts of public revenue in pricing of 2G spectrum would not have been lost," Prasad alleged.