UPA govt most corrupt in India's history: Advani

NEW DELHI: Mounting a fresh attack onthe UPA regime, Opposition BJP on Tuesday called the Manmohan Singh government"the most corrupt in India's history" and sought to sharpen focus on the T RBaalu controversy. For the Opposition, which had tasted success inmaking the government act in cases involving Shibu Soren and Natwar Singhearlier, the Baalu issue has come like fodder to revive another campaign againstthe government.At the BJP parliamentary party meeting earlier in theday, leader of Opposition L K Advani said, "It is a government of taintedministers; PM Manmohan Singh needs to come clear on the issue and DMK minister TR Baalu should resign."Congress, however, reacted sharply toAdvani's comments alleging the veteran was suffering from amnesia. "Advani hasproblems with facts and therefore we would like to remind him of the saga ofcorruption during the NDA rule epitomized by the Bangaru Laxman scam," partyspokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said.But the BJP made it clear thatit would go the whole hog pursuing the Baalu affair. Hitting out at thegovernment, Advani said for the past few days, the Opposition in Parliament hadsought to articulate the sense of outrage felt by the people over the revelationof a scandal involving a DMK minister in the UPA government."Theminister has not only admitted to his role in the scandal seeking favours fromthe ministry of petroleum and natural gas for companies owned by his sons buthas brazenly adopted a so-what attitude," he said. Targeting the government,Advani said, "What has added further stink to the scandal is the disclosure thatthe PM's Office wrote as many as eight letters to the ministry ofpetroleum and natural gas recommending the DMK minister'scase."Demanding a statement from the PM on the issue in Parliament,Advani told his colleagues, "The silence of the UPA chairperson, who, aseveryone knows, is the wielder of political power in the government, is alsoeloquent."The silence of both the PM and the UPA chairperson showedhow much the Congress party and governments headed by it had departed from thestandards of probity and accountability that prevailed in the early decadesafter independence, he added.Recalling the infamous Haridas Mundrascandal that had rocked Jawaharlal Nehru's government in the late 1950s, Advanireminded the present members of the House that "it was none other than FerozeGandhi who, inspite of being a Congress MP, made an explosive disclosure inParliament about the LIC putting in Rs 1.24 crore in industrialist HaridasMundhra's sinking companies without consulting Parliament's InvestmentCommittee".He added, "While PM's personal integrity is beyond doubt,it is now equally beyond doubt that he is neither able nor trying to enforceprobity in his government. It is now common knowledge that the UPA government isby far the most corrupt in India's history. He is exhibiting the samehelplessness that he earlier did in acting against crime-taintedministers."Advani pointed to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's silenceon the issue. "So far as the UPA chairperson is concerned, it is significantthat she should have broken her silence on Nandigram violence for the first timeduring her visit to West Bengal," he said.With the Baalu issuesnowballing into a major controversy, the government will make a statement onthe matter in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday in the backdrop of intense attack on thePMO by the Opposition. Minister of state for parliamentary affairs VNarayanasamy announced in the upper House that petroleum minister Murli Deorawould make the statement on Wednesday.The Opposition has beendemanding a clarification from the PM on reported recommendation by the PMO toexpedite supply of gas to firms owned by the family of surface transport andshipping minister T R Baalu. For the fifth consecutive day, BJP and AIADMKraised the issue in the House demanding a categorical assurance from thegovernment as to when it would reply to the matter. As soon as ZeroHour began, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj reminded the chair of parliamentary affairsminister's assurance in this regard and wanted to know when the government wouldrespond.