Outraged by The Sunday Express expose that six Union Ministers sought favours, some even money, from Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) chiefs, political parties today demanded that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee come clean on the matter, reveal the names of the ministers and order a thorough investigation.Taking the lead, the Congress party sought an independent parliamentary inquiry into the issue. Its spokesman Anand Sharma said: ‘‘The Prime Minister must come clean on the identity of these six ministers and take action against them. He owes it to the nation. He must remove these ministers from their posts.’’Since the matter involves PSUs, a parliamentary inquiry should be ordered into the issue ‘‘and the guilty brought to book,’’ Sharma said.Describing the report as ‘‘shocking’’, CPI(M) politburo member Prakash Karat said: ‘‘The Vajpayee government should immediately respond and inform the country as to what steps are being taken to investigate these charges. Necessary action must be taken.’’Reiterating the CPI(M)’s pro-PSUs line, Karat added: ‘‘At a time when the most profitable public sector units are sought to be privatised by adopting dubious means, this sort of extortion is another way of destroying the public sector.’’The Bahujan Samaj Party, whose leader Mayawati is facing a CBI inquiry at the moment, was quick to demand action against the ministers. The leader of the BSP parliamentary party, Rashid Alvi, said, ‘‘If this is true, the Prime Minister should disclose the names of the ministers and take legal action immediately.’’While the Congress and CPI(M) expressed shock at the revelations, CPI leader A B Bardhan said they were ‘‘just the tip of the iceberg’’ and he was ‘‘not surprised.’’Elaborating, he said, ‘‘The moment an MP comes to power and takes charge of ministries, PSUs are expected to provide facilities ranging from cars, telephones even to friends and families of the ministers. They have become routine. It started originally with the Congress but the BJP government has been very brazen about exploiting the PSUs.’’The BJP, meanwhile, avoided direct comment and played for time. Party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: ‘‘ We have seen the news report. The BJP has no information on the issue as of now. We are trying to get information on this. We will respond to the issue after we get the information.’’Initial political reactions suggest that not only will this matter be raised in a big way in the Winter Session of Parliament which begins on December 2, but is likely to be taken up at the election campaigns in states going to Assembly polls.This was clear from the particularly strong reaction of the Congress. Describing the revelations as ‘‘unprecedented and shocking,’’ Anand Sharma said it showed ‘‘the depths to which the NDA government can sink.’’The ‘‘shocking revelations’’ had exposed the BJP’s claims of being a party ‘‘with a difference’’ yet again, Sharma said, while expressing apprehension that this scam too would be brushed under the carpet.A full feldged inquiry was, therefore, necessary ‘‘not only for the transparent functioning of the PSUs but also the morale of the chief executives,’’ Sharma added.
