The Hindu : Congress denies BJP's charge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 02, 2004

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National

Congress denies BJP's charge

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 1. The Congress today described the BJP allegation that it had received a "petro-bribe'' from the deposed Saddam Hussein regime as yet another example of that party "descending to vulgar and vicious levels to lower the quality of the national political debate.''

The BJP's demand for an investigation into the "Rs. 150-crore petro-bribe scandal' at a press briefing here saw the Congress spring into action. Soon after word was out that the BJP had chosen to raise the issue on the basis of reports appearing in a section of the Iraqi media, the Congress leaders went into a huddle and later issued a statement.

The Congress spokesman, Abhishek Singhvi, said: "Coming from a party which has converted corruption into a fine art, these absurd allegations have to be treated with the contempt that they deserve.'' The Congress sought to once again draw the attention of people to the scams involving the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance - "the Tehelka tapes, the UTI scam, the coffin scam, the petrol pump scam,...''

"Before making such atrocious allegations against the Congress, the BJP spokesperson should have recalled that his party's former president and a Union Minister were caught on camera taking bribes. The Prime Minister defended this Minister in the Lok Sabha. During the rule of this Government, the catalogue of dubious defence deals and scams is unparalleled,'' the Congress said.

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