SP, BJP dub UPA's two-yr rule corrupt

New Delhi, May 22 (UNI) The Opposition BJP, supported by the Samajwadi Party, today attacked the UPA government for its ''failure'' to check spiralling price rise and rampant corruption during two years of its rule.

Speaking on the issues, which saw the Lok Sabha being adjourned during Question Hour earlier, Mr Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) and Mr Vijay Kumar Malhotra (BJP) said the government was trying to save one particular person involved in the Iraq oil-for-food programme as exposed by the Volcker report.

Mr Malhotra said the report had mentioned the Congress party and Mr Natwar Singh who later resigned as External Affairs Minister. The Congress party, he said, meant that the Congress President also was involved.

This prompted protests from Congress members with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi saying it was a contempt of the House as nowhere was the Congress President's name referred to in the report.

''BJP is suffering from a disease for which they need a treatment,'' he said.

Immediately, Mr Malhotra mentioned the name of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, the main accused in the Bofors deal, and wanted to know why the Congress was supporting him.

''What relations he has with which party and family everybody knows,'' Mr Malhotra said, amid shouts of ''shame, shame'' by the BJP members.

Hitting out at the BJP, Mr Dasmunsi asked why the NDA government failed to get Quattrocchi deported from Malaysia.

Earlier, Mr Yadav also targeted the Congress President, and wanted to know why the investigation was not being carried out against the second person involved in the scam.

He said the government was exporting wheat at Rs 1,000 a quintal from the Australian Wheat Company which was the main culprit in the scam, while the Indian farmers were being given only Rs 650 plus Rs 50 for their produce.

He charged that Mr P Chidambaram, before he became Finance Minister, was one of the directors of the England-based Vedanta Aluminium Company to which BALCO's shares were sold at Rs 77 per share when its market value was Rs 1,000.

''This was a Rs 9,000 crore scam... and now the government intends to sell the remaining shares of BALCO to the same company,'' he alleged.

He said the stock market had to be closed today after it tumbled 1,200 points, affecting lakhs of small investors.

''This is the salute the stock market has given to UPA's two-year rule,'' he remarked.

Mr Malhotra said the Scorpene deal was bigger than the Bofors scam, and the UPA government was the epitome of corruption.

At this stage he asked Mr Basudeb Acharia (CPM) why the Communists were supporting corruption as BJP members rose in support of Mr Malhotra.

Mr Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) said those responsible for corruption should be brought to book.

Mr Acharia asked Speaker Somnath Chatterjee why only two members had been allowed to speak on the issues of corruption and price rise.

''We were not there in the meeting when you decided to allow only two members to speak,'' he told the Speaker.

Amid pandemonium, the Speaker moved to the next agenda.

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