Parliament will not be stalled, but no compromise on JPC: Karat

GUWAHATI: CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said Left parties will not stall parliamentary proceedings in the coming budget session but there will be no compromise on the demand for a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam.

"We do not want to stall parliamentary proceedings but there can be no compromise on the demand for the JPC probe. If the UPA government does not allow a probe, people's suspicion on the government's involvement in the scam will go up," he told a rally organised here to protest against communalism and price rise.

"Since Independence this (2G spectrum allocation) is the biggest scam in the country and the Parliament has every right to inquire into it," he said.

Terming Congress as the "master of corruption", Karat said that during the prime ministership of Rajiv Gandhi the Bofors scam amounting to Rs 64 crore came to light and the cases on it are still on even after about two decades.

"The Manmohan Singh government has brought in the looting raj in the country and during its tenure the Rs 1,76,000 crore telecom scam has taken place," he said.

Referring to the Adarsh housing scam, he said while CBI had yesterday registered a case against former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan in it, another Congress leader from that state who was fined Rs 10 lakh by the Supreme Court for covering up corrupt practices has been included in the union cabinet as the rural development minister.

Lambasting BJP for failing to fulfil its role as the main Opposition party of the country, Karat said it is highlighting the corruption of Congress "but when it comes to corruption in its own states, the party is silent."

BJP leaders had not taken any action on the corruption charges against Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his cabinet ministers and party president Nitin Gadkari's recent statement exonerating him was "not only illegal but also immoral."

"Both the Congress and the BJP are working for the benefit of the capitalists, while CPM and the other Left parties are working for the benefit of the common people," he said.

Karat alleged that probes into the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Sharif blasts as well as Swami Aseemanand's depositions in the court clearly proved that BJP and RSS had links with those involved in 'Hindu terrorism'.

"Our fight against both Hindu terror and Islamic fundamentalism will continue," he added.