New Delhi: All eyes are now on Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday accepted Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy’s plea in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
The court allowed Swamy to argue his case and explain why he wanted key witnesses – Sports Secretary Sindhushree Khullar and CBI Joint Director HC Awasthi – to be examined.
Just minutes after the court gave its order, the Opposition went all out against the Home Minister, asking him to resign with immediate effect.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the court order has strengthened the stand of the party on the issue, adding that this was the reason why they had boycotted Chidambaram in Parliament.
Backing the stand of the party, veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said that they had always maintained that Chidambaram’s role in the 2G scam must be probed.
However, the government backed the Home Minister saying the court’s order was no judgement against Chidambaram and therefore there was no question of asking him to resign.
"There is nothing in the court order that raises any questions about P Chidambaram or government. Chidambaram is a part of the government, a very valuable part of the government," Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said.
The Home Minister, however, refused to comment on the order when approached by mediapersons.
Meanwhile, the demand for Chidambaram’s resignation also led to two adjournments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, once till 12 and then again till 2 pm, following uproar over the issue.
Opposition MPs rose from their benches and shouted slogans demanding that Chidambaram step down over his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam, when he was the finance minister.
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