On board air india one, Nov. 12: In the wake of the CAG report on the 2G scandal and the Opposition demand for the removal of communications and information technology minister Mr A. Raja, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Friday sought to put the DMK on notice, saying that the Congress alliance with the southern party continued “as of now”.
Asked about AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa’s reported offer of support of 18 MPs, if Mr Raja is removed, the PM told mediapersons on the return journey from the Seoul G-20 Summit that it was for the Congress high command to take a decision on this.
“This is a subject (Ms Jayalalithaa’s offer) which I am hearing for the first time. This is for the Congress high command, I think, to take note of. I don’t know what Ms Jayalalithaa has said. We are in alliance with the DMK and that alliance stands as of now,” Dr Singh said.
The Prime Minister, however, declined comment on the Opposition’s demand for Mr Raja’s removal following the CAG report indicting him for the multi-thousand crore scam.
“Parliament is in session. It is not proper for me to comment on a subject which is also probably in court,” Dr Singh said.
At the national news conference in May, on the occasion of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government completing the first year of its second term, the Prime Minister had said “action will be taken against anyone found guilty of corruption in the alleged scam in 2G telecom licensing”. Mr Raja had then told reporters in Hyderabad that he was not shying away from any investigation.
The Congress sought to occupy moral high ground this week in getting Mr Ashok Chavan to resign as the chief minister of Maharashtra in the wake of the Adarsh Housing Society scam. It also secured the resignation of Mr Suresh Kalmadi as secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party because of the alleged corruption in Commonwealth Games projects supervised the Games organising committee headed by Mr Kalmadi.
However, there were indications that a decision on Mr Raja’s continuance in the Union Cabinet may be taken after Dr Singh, returns from Seoul. Meanwhile, DMK is hoping for a portfolio change for Mr Raja as as part of a “face-saving formula”