PM must go : BJP

Sonia rejects demand, Oppn divided

• Left supports BJP's demand for the resignation of PM and Ashwani Kumar
• PM is guilty of dereliction of duty on several counts, says Left
• Kamal Nath: Law Minister corrected only the grammar in CBI report
• BJP is mobilizing support for rejecting the A JPC draft l Ray of hope for Govt in Mulayam

Anita Saluja

New Delhi : Raising the pitch, the BJP has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as the buck for the string of scams stops at his doorstep. Support came for the BJP demand from an unexpected quarter � the Left. Saying that the demand is not without merit, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said, "The Prime Minister is guilty of dereliction of duty on a number of counts." Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day, amid uproarious scenes. While Lok Sabha adjourned at 12pm, after papers were tabled, following repeated disruptions, the Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day at 2pm.

Tone was set in the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting under the chairmanship of L K Advani, which passed a formal resolution demanding resignation of the Prime Minister and also Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. "The Prime Minister's Office and the Law Minister have blatantly interfered in the functioning of the CBI, while investigating the coal block allocation scam. The UPA Government first indulges in corruption and then subverts institutions to suppress the truth. It stands exposed before the country. The UPA has forfeited its right to govern," it stated. Unfazed by the Opposition pitch, Congress president Sonia Gandhi rejected the demand out of hand.

"Let them ask," was her terse response. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said, "Parliamentary democracy entails debate, discussion and that has to happen on the floor of the House. It can't happen on the street. So, I believe that by dialogue, we can find convergence on all issues. That will be my effort to ensure that we have convergence."

The BJP is all eyes on what the CBI affidavit on coalgate says in the Supreme Court and what would be the reaction of the Apex Court. The saffron party hopes that the CBI affidavit in the Supreme Court would make continuance of the Law Minister untenable. Bent on showdown, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley demanded that original CBI status report and doctored status report, besides the e-mails exchanged between the CBI and PMO should be made public and placed before the Supreme Court.

The logic is that these documents would conclusively establish the extent of Government interference in the functioning of the CBI. The BJP is particularly appalled that despite Supreme Court direction to the CBI not to share the contents of its affidavit with the political executive, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar convened a meeting of the CBI Director and other top officials of the agency.

Rejecting the defence put up by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath that the changes in the CBI affidavit related to grammar and not the contents, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad wondered, "Since when does CBI need an English tutor like the Law Minister to correct the English of its affidavit." The BJP is angered by the JPC Draft Report on 2G Spectrum scam, for dragging in the fair name of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and former Telecom Minister Arun Shourie, even while seeking to exonerate without even any examination, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

The JPC Draft Report paints the honest as corrupt and the corrupt as honest, is the refrain of the BJP. Determined to deliver a decisive blow to the UPA Government, the BJP is working on rejecting the JPC Draft Report. Following the desertions from the UPA of Trinamool Congress and DMK, the BJP is working on mustering the numbers to get the Draft Report rejected in the JPC meeting slated for April 25. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who is a member of the JPC, is coordinating with the non-UPA members of the JPC. He is reaching out to the likes of T R Baalu of DMK and Gurudas Dasgupta of CPI.

The Congress, on the other hand, is reaching out to the estranged ally, the Trinamool Congress. The SP and BSP, extending outside support to the Congress, are also crucial for the Congress, in staving off the combined Opposition challenge to reject the JPC Draft Report. SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav held out a ray of hope for the Congress, when he said, "The BJP and not the SP wants the Prime Minister to resign. BJP is a big party and they can stall parliament, if they want. I don't think the CBI was influenced by the government in the preparation of the coal scam report."