Opposition wants Raja to go; demands JPC probe

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The opposition parties led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into corruption in the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Mumbai housing scam and the 2G spectrum scam, and said tainted union Telecom Minister A. Raja would have to go.

"It's a Congress scam story all over. We are now demanding a JPC (probe) over the issue because high-level politicians are involved in it," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters outside parliament.

Talking to the media after both houses of parliament were adjourned amid ruckus over demands for a JPC enquiry, Javadekar said there was no point in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

"What is CBI? CBI has already lost its credibility; it has become a political tool and that is why we want a JPC because it is the demand of the people," he said.

Asked if the party will be boycotting Raja who is allegedly involved in the 2G spectrum scam, Javadekar said: "I think the pressure of the public and media and us (BJP) is such that I don't think Raja will be giving answers in the Lok Sabha for many more days, he will have to go".

"It is the mother of all scams and the media has played a very important role in exposing it," he added.

Both houses of parliament were adjourned till 12 p.m. Wednesday, the second day of the winter Session, as members of the BJP and its allies along with the Left parties and the Samajwadi Party raised the pitch demanding action against Raja and a JPC probe.

Jayalalithaa's telegram campaign

Meanwhile, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa called upon Indians to send one-line telegrams to President Pratibha Patil demanding the dismissal of tainted union Telecom Minister A. Raja, who belongs to arch rival DMK.

In a statement released in Chennai, Jayalalithaa said according to the the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the allotment of 2G spectrum to mobile telephony operators had caused a loss of Rs.176,379 crore to the Indian exchequer.

"Now the President officially knows that a loot of Rs.176,379 crore has taken place. It is now for the people to let the president know how they feel about it," she said.

She claimed the 2G spectrum scam outclasses the British colonial loot of India by 200 times.