None found guilty will be spared: PM on 2G scam

NEW DELHI - In his first public remarks on the 2G spectrum scandal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said anyone found guilty of wrong-doing will be brought to book but urged political parties to let parliament function and carry forward the due process.

“There should not be any doubt in anybody’s mind if (there is) any wrong doing by anybody, he or she will be brought to book,” the prime minister said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here during a brief question-answer session after his speech.

He said since parliament was in session he will refrain from a “detailed statement” on the controversy and appealed to all political parties not to disrupt the legislative process, that has been stalled since the beginning of the winter session.

“I can state that various aspects are being looked into by respective investigative agencies in their domains of interest,” he said, adding: “We are ready to discuss all issues in parliament. We are not afraid to discuss.”

The prime minister said the country needed its parliament to function regularly, pass motions and enact laws that have bearing on the lives of people. “It is my humble request to all parties to let parliament work.”

The 2G spectrum saga had crippled parliament for the whole of this week as the opposition refused to give up its demand for a parliamentary probe into the 2G spectrum scandal that has even enveloped the prime minister.

The opposition was also not satisfied with the resignation of DMK’s A. Raja as communications minister late Sunday.

The government so far has declined the opposition’s demand, saying the Public Accounts Committee of which BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi is chairman, functions like a permanent joint parliamentary committee, well equipped to probe any matter.

The opposition position was strengthened after a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to parliament Tuesday indicted Raja in the scam and for causing a loss between Rs.58,000 crore ($12.8 billion) and Rs.1.76 lakh crore ($40 billion) to the exchequer.

Later, a Supreme Court bench had asked why the prime minister did not give sanction to Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy in 2008 to file a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Raja over the 2G spectrum controversy.