New Delhi:
The BJP has made it clear that it now has one target: the Prime Minister.
At a massive rally in Delhi today, the BJP backed by some of its allies shared its agenda. "The campaign against corruption is in a way a campaign against the Prime Minister," said senior BJP leader LK Advani. The BJP plans a series of rallies across the country to push one point - a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the 2G spectrum scam.
(Watch)
The BJP wanted to dull any edge the PM might have gained by stating, earlier this week, that he is willing to appear before a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in connection with the scam.
"The Prime Minister should form the JPC and answer our questions and if you (PM) cannot answer our questions, then you should step down from your post on moral grounds," said Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj chimed in during her speech with, "Madam Sonia Gandhi, why no JPC? Mr Prime Minister, why no JPC?"
The PM had refuted allegations that the government is opposed to a JPC because it wanted to protect him from being summoned by this committee that would be made up of representatives of different political parties. Addressing a massive Congress conclave earlier this week, the PM said that he had "nothing to hide." But a JPC, he said, would lead to delays in the investigations in the 2G scam. After all, the Congress points out, the Supreme Court, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are already unraveling why companies that were ineligible for telecom licenses were given sweetheart deals in 2008 by A Raja for 2G spectrum. Raja, as Telecom Minister, ignored suggestions - some from within the government - to auction mobile licenses. The government's auditor says Raja's policies could have cost the country 1.76 lakh crores.
"If corruption is happening under your nose and you are not doing anything, then you are a participant in it," said Swaraj, summarising the BJP's decision to go the whole hog with its campaign against the PM.
There is some sense - even within the BJP's allies - that it's choosing to stone-pelt the government while resting uncomfortably in a glasshouse. "If they want to hold a rally, the most suitable place will be Bangalore," said the Congress' Manish Tewari. In Karnataka, the BJP has been unable to sack BS Yeddyurappa, the Chief Minister who stands accused of brokering a series of illicit land deals for family and friends.
And some within the BJP admit that with the newly-energized CBI inquiry into the 2G scam, the party is worried about losing its anti-corruption ground to the government. Hence, the amplified attack against no less than the PM.
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