Won't tolerate corruption in BJP-ruled states: Advani

Bangalore : With land and mining scams dogging the BJP government in Karnataka, party's veteran leader L K Advani, today, said the BJP will not make any compromise with corruption in the states ruled by it.

Mr Advani, whose anti-graft yatra entered Karnataka, also continued his attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing him of leading independent India's "most corrupt government."

"Good governance cannot co-exist with corruption...I am not saying this only to the Congress. I am telling this to me (my party) also...If there is corruption in us (party-ruled governments), we will not compromise.

I have said this earlier also in Karnataka that I will never defend corruption. There is no doubt in this," he told a public meeting, organised as part of his 'Jan Chetna Yatra', at the National College Ground in Bangalore.

"If I talk about wrongs in the government, wrongs in the Congress, then I will not accept it within our governments too," he said in his 45-minute address at the rain-hit rally.

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Faced with fresh allegations of corruption against two Karnataka ministers, the BJP leader, however, said graft allegations will have to be proved first.

He was highly critical of the Prime Minister over the manner in which his government secured the majority in the vote of confidence in 2006 after the Left withdrew support on the issue of Indo-US nuclear agreement.

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In this context, Mr Advani termed the "cash-for-vote" scam as the biggest scam ever, saying that such a scam would not have happened anywhere else in the world.

"The 2G scam may be a very big scam but the cash-for-vote scam is the biggest scam ever," he said.

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Mr Advani said he never wanted to do another yatra like this, but this cash-for-vote scam "made me angry and forced me to undergo this yatra" to awaken the people of the country.

Without naming former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, Mr Advani said the BJP took action without delay once the Lokayukta gave its report (indicting him in the illegal mining case).

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Complimenting the present Chief Minister of the state D V Sadananda Gowda, Mr Advani said, "whatever discussions, I had with the new Chief Minister, I am satisfed that he is moving in the right direction and will give a good government in Karnataka."

Mr Advani said he had respect for Manmohan Singh as a good and efficient administrator before he became the Prime Minister, but today he feels sad that he is leading "such a corrupt government".

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On the issue of black money, Mr Advani said that with the passing of the Distribution of Illicit Assets Act by the Swiss Parliament, the Indian black money stashed in Swiss banks should come back to India. He pegged the "dirty (black) money" stashed away in Swiss banks at Rs 25 lakh crore.

Mr Advani also expressed hope that all this money will be spent in the six lakh villages in the country to make them prosperous.

He also pledged that "wherever we rule, we will give good and honest governance. If there is any shortcoming, we will remove them also."