‘CVC hangs around PM neck as albatross’

Referring to the Supreme Court ruling,Jaitley said as far as the appointment of Thomas was concerned,“it was not done by A Raja or by Quattrocchi,but by Manmohan Singh himself”. If Thomas resigned,then the government would get some reprieve,“but if he does not,then fingers will be pointed at the Prime Minister”.

Asserting that the Prime Minister’s image as a good economist had taken a beating as he failed to control rising prices,the BJP leader said,“People also say he is personally honest and is a man of integrity. It is indeed a strange honesty that he leads the most corrupt and dishonest government in India since 1947.”

On the 2G spectrum and CWG scams,he said while 2010 had been a “year of scandals”,2011 would be the year of “cover-ups”.

Jaitley accused the government of “perverting” constitutional bodies and misusing the CBI. He said the Bofors payoffs case had returned to haunt the Congress because it directly led to the doorsteps of the Congress’s “first family”. The CBI could not get justice “for teenagers Ruchika and Arushi as it was focusing all its energies in framing cases against political rivals and shielding Congress leaders”,he added.

Taking a dig at the Congress,the BJP leader recalled an advertisement punch line which said “whenever you think of colour,think of us”. “With the Congress,it goes like whenever you see corrupt,think of us. Whenever Congress leaders see corrupt,they have a sense of affinity for that man,” he said.

He claimed that while most governments begin with a “honeymoon period” and face revulsion in the fag end of their term,the UPA began its term with the “revulsion situation” where people had started disliking its approach from the very beginning.