Sonia to PM: Please come clean

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today demanding ‘‘an independent Parliamentary ...

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today demanding ‘‘an independent Parliamentary inquiry’’ into the case of six Cabinet ministers seeking personal favours from PSU chiefs, as reported in The Sunday Express on November 9.

However, Vajpayee, before his departure for Moscow beginning a week-long three-nation visit today, denied that any Ministers were named. ‘‘I do not understand how such reports have appeared,’’ he said. ‘‘The Cabinet Secretary has already given his clarification and after that everything is cleared. No minister was named in the discussions.’’

	Laloo claims 3 from Bihar, let’s meet Kalam

			PATNA: An all-party delegation led by Sonia will meet the Prime minister or President on November 15 to seek action against six Ministers against whom complaints have come from PSU chiefs for ‘‘harassment.’’ Yadav claimed that of the six, three were from Bihar but refused to give their names. —PTI.’

			BJP ‘surprised’ at Sonia’s request
			The BJP on Tuesday expressed its ‘‘surprise’’ over Congress president Sonia Gandhi asking Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee to disclose the names of the six Cabinet ministers, who, according to the CVC, sought favours from heads of PSUs under their ministries. Party general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said: ‘‘We are surprised over Sonia Gandhi’s letter to the Prime Minister. It is irresponsible to ask the Prime Minister to disclose the names of ministers after the Cabinet Secretary has denied that the CVC named any minister for pressurising any PSU chief.’’

In her letter to the PM, Sonia has expressed ‘‘shock’’ that the Government is not only arbitrarily privatising PSUs but is also letting them to be exploited by the ministers like ‘‘personal fiefdoms.’’

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‘‘The reported misuse of the PSUs for personal and political benefits has apparently been played out to such a degree that it has forced the Chief Vigilance Commissioner to personally bring the matter to your notice,’’ Gandhi said in her letter.

‘‘It is ironical that a Government that has been so keen to dispose of and privatise PSUs without a clearly declared policy or Parliamentary scrutiny, without any thought to strategic industries or workers’ interests, is at the same time allowing the exploitation of those very PSUs by its ministers,’’ she stated.

‘‘Instead of strengthening the PSUs through professionalisation and greater autonomy, the members of your Cabinet have apparently attempted to run them as their personal fiefdoms,’’ she added.

‘‘Serious thought also needs to be given to framing rules and regulations to protect the PSUs from ministerial interference that amounts to misuse and make such interference punishable with severe penalties,’’ she stated.

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She expressed ‘‘concern’’ that even after the matter was highlighted by the media for several days ‘‘no action seems to have been taken at your level.’’

‘‘In the interest of probity and accountability, I urge you to agree to immediately institute an independent Parliamentary inquiry into the allegations made against the ministers and reveal their identities,’’ she stated.

Speaking later, party spokesperson Anand Sharma felt that the denial by the Government is ‘‘more concealing than revealing.’’

‘‘Irrespective of whether the ministers were named or not, the serious nature of the complaints cannot be brushed aside,’’ he said.

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‘‘We would like to know what necessitated the CVC to meet the Prime Minister on this issue,’’ he added.

‘‘Also, the Congress demands to know what has been done 26 days after the CVC complained to the Prime Minister,’’ Sharma said.