PM Manmohan Singh responsible for negativism: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: A day after PM Manmohan Singh spoke of "mindless atmosphere of negativity and pessimism", BJP asked him to 'walk the talk' on graft. BJP held the UPA responsible for creating such an atmosphere and alleged the 'most shameful instances of corruption' have happened during its tenure. It alleged the prime minister was trying to mislead the country by stating that the 'infirmity of law' was preventing the government from taking action in corruption cases.

Leader of Opposition in RS, Arun Jaitley, wrote an article, 'Why is there Negativism,' citing instances of "unfair and unacceptable transactions" under Congress regime while BJP's chief spokesperson, Ravi Shankar Prasad, raised a series of questions for the prime minister. According to Jaitley, the prime minister should have introspected why such an environment was created.

"Yes, the prime minister is right when he says that there is an environment of cynicism and negativism. The poison which perpetuates this negativism therefore must be expunged from the system. Banish corruption, investigate corruption cases honestly and punish the corrupt - that will create a more positive environment."

Jaitley referred to Arvind Kejriwal's allegations of Robert Vadra's DLF deals and said the way senior ministers came to his defence showed the controversy was being used to "display loyalty rather than enforce probity."