The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday refused to be cowed down by the Opposition assault on the cash-for-votes scandal and reiterated that none from the Congress Party or the Government had bribed anyone to win the trust vote in 2008.

Speaking in Lok Sabha in the short duration discussion on his earlier statement on the WikiLeaks expose', Dr Singh also took a dig at prominent Opposition leaders Mr L.K.Advani and Ms Sushma Swaraj, who had made a scathing attack on the Prime Minister for his weak response to every scam.

For Ms Swaraj, who is the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister came up with a couplet. Dr Singh also said that the “BJP leader Mr L.K.Advani believed being the Prime Minister was his birthright and therefore has never forgiven me”. Dr Singh also noted that Mr Advani has to wait for three-and-half more years.

Reiterating his earlier stance on the alleged bribery scandal, Dr Singh said that “we have not been involved in any such transaction and we have not authorised anyone to indulge in such transactions”. The Prime Minister said that it would be “dangerous” to go for what an embassy official has to say about and reiterated that it was not possible for the Government to confirm the veracity or the contents of the purported cables from the US embassy in New Delhi to their authorities in Washington.

The Prime Minister left it to the “good sense” of the Lok Sabha to decide for itself whether the report of Parliament's inquiry committee in anyway substantiates the “wild allegations” levelled by the members of Opposition. Soon after the Prime Minister's statement, the entire NDA staged a walkout in Lok Sabha.

Later, Dr Singh also made an identical statement in Rajya Sabha, denying allegations of bribery in the cash-for-votes scandal.

>krsrivats@thehindu.co.in

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