BJP asks why Chidambaram’s role has not been probed

The framing of charges in the 2G spectrum case has sparked off another round of verbal dueling between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the BJP president Nitin Gadkari stressed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot escape responsibility for this scam, party spokesperson Nirmala Seetharaman sought to bring the union home minister P Chidambaram within the ambit of the enquiry.

“Prima facie there seems to be sufficient evidence against those who have been charge-sheeted. But what about others whose role has not been examined carefully? We want the CBI to probe the matter against him, under the supervision of the Supreme Court. But before that, the home minister should be removed from his post in order to ensure a fair investigation. He should either quit or be sacked as we have apprehensions that his continuing in the minister’s seat might influence the probe,” said Seetharaman.

But the Congress saw the framing of the charges as the logical next step in the trajectory of the case. “This is just the framing of charges, not a conviction. The case shall now proceed, and there is no point now in anyone making a demand that somebody else should also be investigated,” said party spokesperson Abhshek Manu Singhvi. He said that it has become the BJP’s habit to bring up Chidambaram’s name every time the 2G case comes up. “This is their political compulsion,” he added. He also ruled out any adverse impact on the Congress-DMK alliance.