TN poses challenge for Congress
Tamil Nadu has posed a big challenge for the Centre and the Congress high command on the issue of controversial 2G spectrum allocation and the role of telecom minister A. Raja in it. Now, they would either have to defend or disown him inside and outside Parliament. This is because the issue is uniting the Opposition whose target is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The current mood in the Congress is that Mr Raja should either be dropped from the Union Cabinet or his portfolio be changed. But DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi is ignoring these feelers after realising that it would be seen as a victory of AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa ahead of the state Assembly elections.
The PM is expected to take a call on it in the coming days. If insiders are to be believed, he wanted Mr Raja should be replaced but is unwilling to take a decision as he is unsure of its political consequences.
The Congress has earlier removed Mr Ashok Chavan from the Maharashtra chief ministership on the Adarsh housing scam and Mr Suresh Kalmadi from the post of CPP secretary on the mess up in the Commonwealth Games.
It had even targeted the then defence minister George Fernandes on the coffin scam and boycotted him in Parliament.
But the 2G spectrum allocation issue is diluting the Congress’ position on the corruption issue.
The other day, the Congress sources felt the DMK leadership to take a call on this issue. But on Friday, it asked why the BJP is shying away for a discussion on it in Parliament. The Congress and the DMK might be wanting to target the BJP on this issue but the real political beneficiary could be Ms Jayalalithaa in the coming state Assembly elections.
Interestingly, barring law minister M. Veerappa Moily no body is willing to back Mr Raja.
He said the report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on 2G spectrum allocation cannot be called an indictment of Mr Raja, as claimed by the Opposition, as it is not final.
“You cannot call it an indictment. It is not a final report. Technically no one can call it indictment,” he said.
told PTI here, adding he had not seen any minister resigning following a CAG report.
The BJP on Friday made a renewed demand that Raja be sacked forthwith with its spokesperson Prakash Javadekar asking why the PM was silent on the issue. CPI(M) chief Prakash Karat and CPI leader D Raja also echoed BJP’s demands.
The Janata Dal (U) JD(U) stressed the need for holding nation-wide struggle against the Congress on corruption.
“Courtesy the Congress, the size of corruption in the country has swollen to a great extent... According to a CAG report the country suffered huge loss of 1.77 lakh crore in the allotment of the 2G spectrum”, its U) spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari said.
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