EXPRESSING CONCERN over the delay in presentation of the report of the Volcker Committee in Parliament, BJP president Rajnath Singh accused the Union Government of delaying the inquiry and its report due to vested interests. The Election Commission of India must also look into the matter, he said.
“The tenure of the inquiry committee headed by Justice RS Pathak is going to end shortly but it has not been able to complete the full inquiry within the stipulated time-frame. It is expected that the government will extend the period of inquiry,” Rajnath said.
He added, “It clearly indicates that the government will not be able to put up its report on such a serious issue in the coming session of Parliament. The government wants the matter to linger on ”.
Talking to mediapersons just before the launch of the second phase of Bharat Suraksha Yatra here in Varanasi on Wednesday morning, Singh alleged that the Volcker inquiry had simply concentrated on only one person, former external affairs minister Natwar Singh while the ruling party, Congress, was directly involved in the matter.
He explained that the coupons had been issued in the name of the Congress, not in the name of any individual. These coupons in the name of the Congress had been encashed. The concentration of inquiry only on Natwar Singh indicated that a conspiracy was being hatched by the Union Government to divert the inquiry to protect the Congress.
{{/usCountry}}He explained that the coupons had been issued in the name of the Congress, not in the name of any individual. These coupons in the name of the Congress had been encashed. The concentration of inquiry only on Natwar Singh indicated that a conspiracy was being hatched by the Union Government to divert the inquiry to protect the Congress.
{{/usCountry}}All the evidence and documents were available to the committee for the last three months with enough timeframe of six months but the delay was on purpose, he said, adding that such a substantial allegation of taking money from abroad had come up against a political party for the first time in the history of independent India. He demanded that the Union government make sensitive documents available with the Volcker Committee public.
From time to time, it had come to notice that Congress and the Communist Party both had received money from foreign countries. The Congress had a well-known history of corruption and scams but always efforts were made to overlook the reality, he alleged.
Commenting on the scenario of his home state, UP, Raj Nath Singh lashed out on the SP-led government and said the security of common people was in peril.
There were several hideouts of the ISI in the state but their elimination was not possible during the existence of the SP-led government in the state. The incident of Meerut had exposed the real face of the State government, which got bulldozers run in Victoria park to reduce the number of the dead.
Speaking about the second phase of Bharat Suraksha Yatra to be launched from Varanasi, Singh informed that the yatra would conclude in New Delhi on May 10 after traversing UP and Uttaranchal, covering an area of 5,500 kilometres.
The objective of the yatra was to form public opinion in the nation to mount pressure on the UPA government to mend its ways as external and internal security were in danger. The Union government had fully deviated from its path, losing its grip on people-oriented economy, he said.