New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of spoiling the atmosphere of parliament’s monsoon session and vowed to raise issues of corruption under rules that entail voting.
A statement issued jointly by Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, said: ‘The prime minister’s statement daring to expose the skeletons in the opposition’s cupboard has set a confrontationist tone for the monsoon session.’
Calling the comment ‘totally unprovoked’, Sushma Swaraj said her party would raise issues of corruption and price rise under rule 184 which would voting.
Stating she had a good meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, leader of the house in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj said she was not sure if Manmohan Singh was aware of the cordial talks between the opposition and his own cabinet colleagues.
She said she was surprised when the prime minister told mediapersons Sunday that the opposition had too many skeletons in its cupboard.
‘It is an ill-advised comment. A single sentence has spoilt the good atmospherics,’ she said.
Jaitley also blasted Manmohan Singh.
‘The prime minister is faced with several questions. Instead of answering the questions, he is trying to sideline the issue,’ said Jaitley. ‘He first defended A. Raja, then he tried to distance himself.’
Both the BJP and Left want a discussion on corruption in parliament, followed by voting.
The government has said it is open to debate as long as the resolution moved does not refer specifically to a party or individual.
‘The guilty can not lay down the rules of the game. How can they say that no one should be named?’ Jaitley asked.
The party Monday also moved a notice for taking up a discussion on the role of Manmohan Singh and then finance minister P. Chidambaram when the 2G spectrum broke out.
