It was surprise bonhomie between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former telecom minister A. Raja, who has recently resigned for his alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam, as the former gave a friendly pat on the latter’s back at a function organised by the ruling UPA constituent DMK on Tuesday. Reacting to the Prime Minister’s gesture, though the ruling Congress found it a normal courtesy, the BJP lamented it by saying this has sent a wrong message at a time when the Supreme Court was hearing the spectrum case.
At a function in Parliament to mark the seventh death anniversary of former Union minister Murasoli Maran, Mr Raja along with other senior DMK leaders greeted the Prime Minister, who had come to pay homage.
Before leaving the venue, Dr Singh shook hands with Mr Raja and patted on his back.
The other top Congress leaders, who attended the function included, party president Sonia Gandhi and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
DMK parliamentary party leader T.R. Baalu and his colleagues from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, besides several Congress MPs also paid homage to Maran, who had served as commerce minister in the NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee.
The BJP, while making Dr Singh’s gesture an issue to corner government, said, it has sent a wrong signal, particularly when the top court has still been hearing the 2G spectrum case.
“At such a time, the Prime Minister patting Mr Raja’s back at a public event would appear like a message in itself to the people and does not look good,” a senior BJP leader, who did not want to be identified, said.