Nitin Gadkari pulls up government on corruption inaction

Mumbai, Jan 17 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari compared the Congress-led UPA Government to a band of dacoits for its perceived inaction on the issue of corruption.

Addressing a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rally here on Sunday, Gadkari said: "They (ruling Congress party) are looting the nation. Just like a band of dacoits enters a village and steals away the money of the people."

"This was a government, which looted its people by making laws to suit them. For instance, for the Commonwealth Games, there was a rule that contractors had to have previous experience with such games and thus all the Indian contractors were ruled out," he added.

He said lakhs of farmers have committed suicide, and there were reports which said that in India 70 per cent of the people spend less than Rs. 20 a day. On the one hand, while Sharad Pawar was Agriculture Minister, foodgrains were rotting, there was no storage facility, gas prices were spiraling, he added.

He also reiterated the NDA's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into 2G scam and asked the Congress "what is wrong thing we have done by asking for a JPC?"

"The Congress was afraid because their faces were already blackened and they were afraid that more scams would spill out," he added.

He urged the Congress to initiate action against the perpetrators of the colossal scams at the earliest.

The rally, seen as a display of the NDA's political clout in the city, was attended by several leaders of the coalition, including BJP leader LK Advani, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and Janata Dal (U) chief Sharad Yadav. (ANI)