The BJP on Wednesday asserted that not only home minister P Chidambaram but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too was aware of ?everything? that went on with the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008, and that Singh was living ?in denial? by ?protecting tainted ministers.?
Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, leaders of the Opposition, were reacting to the PM’s remarks on board his special aircraft on Tuesday. While the leaders rebutted the Prime Minister point by point, they said that ?the last word on the 2G saga was yet to be said.? Shying away from demanding Singh?s resignation, the two asserted that the PM knew everything, but that the party would up the ante against him only when ?some proof exists?.
?There are serious aspersions on the role of P Chidamabaram as evidenced by the finance ministry note of March 25, 2011, therefore we demand that he step down. If and when such proof surfaces against the PM we will ask for his resignation too,? said Arun Jaitley.
?The March 25 note of the finance ministry accessed through RTI shows clearly para by para that the then finance minister (P Chidambaram) not only had the knowledge but it had his approval as well,? Swaraj said. ?So the wrongdoings committed by Raja have also been committed by Chidambaram,? she added.
The party rejected the Prime Minister’s contention that the Opposition was trying to destabilise the government, saying it did not have the numbers to do so but the ?collapse? was taking place due to its own contradictions.
She alleged that UPA was following a “unique coalition dharma” where when a coalition partner is guilty he is trapped while when a Congress leader is guilty he is saved. ?The Prime Minister should save his house instead of blaming the opposition. He should not heap all the blame for this on the opposition and give a clean chit to his ministers,? Swaraj said.