PM should respond to SC observation on Raja issue: Advani

PM should respond to SC observation on Raja issue: Advani 

Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Wednesday demanded that PM Manmohan Singh should immediately respond to Supreme Court's observation on delay in taking a decision on the plea for sanction for prosecution of former Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation issue.

"The PM should immediately respond to what the Supreme Court has said on Raja issue," Advani told reporters in Patna before leaving for campaigning for last phase of Bihar assembly elections.

He said, "We are demanding a JPC probe into the issue in Parliament and the government should think on it.

"Corruption should be eliminated from the country," Advani said.

"I don't remember the SC raising a question like this in 60 years of my parliamentary career," Advani said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked some embarrassing questions about the lengthy delay on the part of the Prime Minister in taking a decision on a plea for sanction of prosecution of the former Telecom Minister in the controversial 2G spectrum allocation issue.

"Can the sanctioning authority (Prime Minister in this case) sit on the complaint," a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly had asked during a hearing on a petition filed by Janata Party President and former Law Minister Subramaniam Swamy, who had sought sanction for prosecution of Raja.

Advani said during the last two sessions of Parliament, "price rise and inflation were one of the main issues...and the way the opposition raised it, the government was forced to debate on it".

He said corruption has now become an important issue as three major scams had surfaced.