20/12/2010
New Delhi: On the second day of the Congress' plenary session – a meet that has become the occasion for earnest soul-searching as well as an attempt to exorcise the demon of corruption plaguing the party -- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took the lead in his speech on Monday and said he is ready to appear before the Public Accounts Committee on the 2G spectrum scam, stating emphatically that he “has nothing to hide”.
The Prime Minister was addressing the Congress plenary in Burari on Monday. While he exhorted partymen and office-bearers on the need to show integrity and to be honest, Singh also dared the Opposition by categorically rejecting its demand for a joint parliamentary probe (JPC) in the spectrum allocation.
He said: "All aspects of the 2G spectrum allocation are being probed. No purpose will be served by a JPC as a multi-agency probe is underway into the spectrum allocation."
He added: "I am ready to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament on this issue although there is no such precedent. I have nothing to hide."
He said the PAC has all powers which can be given to the JPC. He said the BJP has "falsely propagated" the government does not want a JPC because it does not want the Prime Minister to appear before it.
"I believe like Caesar's wife, the PM should be above suspicion," he said.
Singh firmly said no "guilty person will be spared in the 2G spectrum and CWG scams" irrespective of which party he belongs to.
He also said the government will pay careful attention to the four-point agenda to fight corruption set out by Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress, embattled in a fight against allegations of financial irregularities by its ministers and senior leaders, needed both Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh to come out with statements that would emphasise its intent to fight corruption.
A united Opposition has already ruined an entire session of Parliament on its demand for a JPC probe into 2G. The Opposition has also demanded the Prime Minister appear before the JPC and explain what went wrong in the spectrum allocation.
On Sunday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had unveiled a four-point action plan to intensify the "battle against corruption", advocating a new system of fast-tracking all cases of corruption involving public servants, "full transparency" in public procurement and contracts, "open and competitive system" of exploiting natural resources, and asking all party chief ministers and ministers at both the Centre and states to set an example by reviewing and relinquishing all discretionary powers, particularly in land allocation.
Source: The Indian Express
No one will be spared: Manmohan
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