Stating that an election victory cannot erase a crime, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for citing the 2009 poll triumph as a defence of the allegation that MPs were bought ahead of the trust vote in July 2008.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha, the leader of opposition also asked the Prime Minister if he was willing to apply the same yardstick to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in that state — since he later won the Assembly election.
She asked the government to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the bribery charges of 2008 and to include the names of those exposed by the US embassy cables, leaked by WikiLeaks, as accused to get the truth out.
"The Prime Minister referred to UPA's victory in the 2009 elections despite the opposition raising the issue of bribes in the July 2008 trust vote. This is a new definition of criminal jurisprudence that the prime minister is writing," Sushma Swaraj said.
"In Gujarat, chief minister Narendra Modi has won two consecutive assembly elections in which the 2002 riots was made an issue. Yet, the cases are being pursued against him. You unleashed the CBI, SIT (special investigation team) and all agencies against him and his government," she said.
Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the BJP leader asked the Prime Minister if he wanted the cases against Congress leaders in the violence withdrawn as the party under Rajiv Gandhi's leadership won the subsequent polls with over 400 Lok Sabha seats in its kitty.
"Election victory or defeat cannot wipe away any crime. The episode (bribery in 2008 trust vote) shamed India. It has blemished our democratic tradition," she added.
The BJP leader said it had become a habit for Manmohan Singh to blame others for all the wrongs in his government.
"What is the refrain of the prime minister: I do not know. I am not aware. I have no information. If I have information, then it happened due to coalition compulsion. I only know what others show me," she said.
"You blame Sharad Pawar (agriculture minister) for inflation, 2G spectrum scam on A. Raja (former telecom minister) and the Commonwealth Games scam on Suresh Kalmadi (former organising committee chief)," she added.
Reminding Manmohan Singh that he was "heading" this government, Sushma Swaraj said governance was his responsibility.
"You are this country's leader. It is not good for you to blame others. It is not possible to shift your responsibility on others. I do not believe or agree that you do not know," she said.
Noting that Manmohan Singh had directly benefited from the "bribe giving" during the 2008 trust vote, Sushma Swaraj said under criminal laws, the person who gained from a crime and the person who committed the crime were equally guilty.
The BJP leader also attacked Manmohan Singh for stating that the parliamentary committee that investigated the 'cash-for-vote' scam, as the episode has now come to be known, was inconclusive and there was insufficient proof to conclude bribes were paid. She reminded him that a case had been registered on the basis of the panel's report.