PM asks Jaswant to name mole or let country draw conclusion

New Delhi, Aug 1 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sought to quell the controversy over the 'mole' in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), saying former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh should name the person or ''let the country draw its own conclusion''.

Rising to speak after a long but frequently interrrupted speech by the BJP leader, who held the portfolios of External Affairs, Defence and Finance in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, the Prime Minister appealed to Mr Singh's ''chivalry'' to name the mole, saying the former had in a recent television interview implied that ''snooping had taken place and was continuing'' in the PMO.

Speaking amid a charged discussion on the 'mole' issue in the house, which had led to two adjournments, Dr Singh clarified that the BJP member ''was a man of honour and a decent man.'' ''As I hold him in such esteem, I have asked him to name the mole.'' Referring to recent interviews given by Mr Jaswant Singh in which the former had implied that snooping had taken place and was continuing, the Prime Minister appealed to Mr Jaswant Singh's chivalry to name the person and if he did not, then to let the country draw its own conclusion.

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