SC order a severe indictment of UPA-II govt: Opposition

Major opposition parties today said the Supreme Court ruling on the 2G scam was a "severe indictment" of the UPA-II government and demanded that the Prime Minister own up responsibility but stopped short of demanding his resignation.

While the BJP sought resignation of Home Minister P Chidambaram, the CPI(M) demanded that Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal quit as he had "refused to cancel" the 2G spectrum licences claiming there was no loss to the exchequer.

Maintaining that the Supreme Court decision on 2G scam raised serious questions on the credibility, transparency and integrity of the UPA government, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "cannot escape" the political responsibility as he is head of the government.

"The 2G scam is the biggest scam since Independence. The entire country was deeply agitated and shocked over it. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union ministers Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram defended the 2G spectrum allocation inside and outside Parliament and stated there was no wrongdoing," he said.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said even after CAG pointed to the wrongdoings, government had defended then Telecom Minister A Raja.

The CPI(M) said the apex court's order was a "strong indictment" of the government and asked the Prime Minister to take a call on its fallout as it has exposed the "bluff" on the UPA-II's claims.