Remark made in jest, says Shinde

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Union home minister Sushilkumar Shine, who on Saturday claimed that people would forget the coal scam just like they had forgotten the Bofors scam, was on Sunday forced to clarify that his comments were made in 'jest'.

The former state chief minister, who was in Pune on Saturday for a function, while denying the possibility of mid-term polls had said, “You keep rubbing coal, but it will remain black. All you have to do is wash your hands and it will become clean again. People forgot Bofors. They no longer remember the petrol pump distribution scam during the NDA regime. Soon, they will even forget the alleged coal scam.”

His comments drew the ire of senior Congress leaders, as well as the Opposition. The Union minister, however, was quick to clarify that his comments were not meant to be taken seriously.

“At times, one says something in jest, but it comes across badly,” he said from Karad on Sunday.

Reacting to his comments, Shiv Sena executive chief Uddhav Thackeray said, “I want to congratulate Sushilkumar Shinde for having revealed the true strategy of the Congress.”

Mr Shinde’s remarks has drawn sharp reactions with the Opposition reminding him that Congress lost power after that controversy and could never get a majority on its own since then.

“In 1984 post-Indira Gandhi’s death, when elections happened, Congress had won more than 400 seats. After five years post Bofors scandal, Congress was out of power and its seats got halved.''

“It’s a different matter whether people have forgotten Bofors or not but Congress has forgotten what Bofors had done to it. Since then, Congress has not got majority on its own,” BJP leader Balbir Punj said.