Cong reiterates demand for probe into Jaswant's revelations

New Delhi, July 18 (UNI)The Congress today said that it had left it to the discretion of the Union Government to decide what form of investigation it would conduct into former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh's revelations about terrorists having demanded ransom of Rs 900 crores for the release of passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines IC-814 plane during the NDA regime.

The Government would take cognisance of the facts if it comes to its notice,Congress Spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi said.

Mr Chaturvedi had yesterday in his routine press briefing demanded a thorough investigation of the revelations made by Mr Jaswant Singh to this effect in his autobiography if it was true, adding that if it was false then the BJP should prosecute him, remove him from the party and tender an apology to the nation.

Mr Singh, however, had told a TV channel later that no ransom of Rs 900 crore was paid to terrorists before taking them to Kandahar in Government plane and challenged that any agency could investigate the matter.

Reacting to Gujarat Chief Minster Narendra Modi's utterances made in Mumbai yesterday,he accused the BJP of politicising the Mumbai blasts.He said the people of Mumbai would not be taken in by the propaganda of the BJP regarding Mumbai blasts and said the people there had seen through the game plan of the BJP behind attacking the Government and were cursing the BJP men as to why they did not come there to the rescue of the affected people earlier. "People have become mature now." Replying to a question, Mr Chaturvedi said the Congress would give a befitting reply to the BJP as and when the matter is raised in Parliament.

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