2G scam: Don't make Raja, Kalmadi scapegoats, says Gadkari

NEW DELHI: BJP on Thursday said the government should not make A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi scapegoats in the 2G spectrum issue and Commonwealth Games scams and asserted that since all decisions were taken by the Union cabinet and the Prime Minister, a JPC probe alone could bring out the truth.

"The decisions by (former Telecom Minister) A Raja and other ministers, were taken with the permission of the Union cabinet and the Prime Minister some where or the other during the process...

"So who is Raja's Godfather and who all were involved should be revealed to the nation which is the right of the people," BJP President Nitin Gadkari told reporters.

He stuck to the BJP stand that until a JPC is formed, the whole truth will not come out. "It will be an eyewash until the whole truth is revealed and the inquiry is made till the last point," Gadkari said.

He alleged that the Congress and UPA were involved in the 2-G Spectrum allocation scam and without them this scandal was not possible. "Others cannot get away with a clean image by sacrificing Kalmadi and Raja, though the two may be guilty. The government cannot make them scapegoats and get away," he said.

He also alleged that the Prime Minister should be held responsible for the policy decisions on 2G spectrum allocation. "The principal secretary wrote a note that the Group of Ministers taking out the pricing clause would be harmful for the nation. If the Prime Minister had accepted it then, this situation, perhaps, would not have arisen," Gadkari said.

He claimed that "under some pressure" the Prime Minister over-ruled the principal secretary and gave permission. "In this department (Telecom), in a way a license was given by the Central government to openly indulge in corruption. The Government seems to have outsourced this department to DMK," Gadkari said.

He demanded that a full inquiry should be conducted to bring out the truth "in black and white".