The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's refusal to drop Foreign Minister Natwar Singh from the cabinet as a national disappointment and said the party would turn the heat on the government to sack the minister for lobbying for an office of profit.
BJP Spokesman Arun Jaitley told newspersons in New Delhi that it was unfortunate that the Dr Singh, proclaimed as "Mr Clean" by the Congress, had ended up as a "Kangaroo Court," doling out prejudicial clean chits to ministers facing grave charges in courts of law.
"If Natwar Singh is so clean as he claims, then there should be lot of explaining to be done about the presence of his son or other family members in Baghdad during the period when the payment was made as mentioned in the report of the Independent UN Committee which probed the 'Oil for Food' scandal. Natwar should clarify if these visits were business or family get-togethers," Mr Jaitley said.
"A lobbyist getting money from a foreign regime will seriously dent the national honour and prestige," he added.
He said the prime minister, instead of getting details and evidences or the basis of the Volcker Committee report for arriving or constitute a probe into the payments to the Swiss Bank account, had given a prejudicial finding without caring for the political and diplomatic consequences.
Such prejudicial judgements in the recent past, whether it was regarding the tainted ministers in his cabinet, Governors of Bihar or Jharkhand, his "non-response" to the absconder Rashtriya Janata Dal minister and now clean chit to Natwar Singh, would have a reflection about his own credibility, the BJP leader said.
"If you are not giving due credence to a UN probe report and allow him to continue as foreign minister, how can he represent India abroad when the world community had initiated probes into such deals," he said.
He said the Left parties, which are seeking a probe into the biasness of the Volcker Committee report, were supporting the Congress for collateral purposes.
"It is too simplistic to think that things are going to die down because the Opposition would be using every available opportunity -- media, public rallies and Parliament effectively on the issue," he said.
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