UPA sullied democracy, image of country: Advani

Kottarakkara (Ker), Oct 29: BJP leader LK Advani today (Oct 29) alleged the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had sullied the country's image and democracy by indulging in corruption and protecting the corrupt.

Addressing a public meeting here on the 18th day of his Jana Chetna Yatra, he said besides condemning corruption, his yatra had the objective of forcing the government to bring back black money stashed away in Swiss banks.

Advani said he conceived the yatra after his colleagues exposed the cash-for-vote scandal in Parliament. "Instead of congratulating them and protecting them for exposing such a huge scandal, the government put them in jail," he said.

"Through bribing MPs for votes to cook up majority in Parliament, the UPA sullied the image of the country and democracy," Advani alleged. Stating that BJP had started its campaign against corruption in the Winter Session of Parliament last year, he said it forced the government to order a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam in 2011.

"Congress is leaving its leaders responsible for the scandal by making allies scapegoats. We have no sympathies with the allies and every corrupt person should be punished.

"But why make them scapegoats for which you too are responsible?" he said. On the blackmoney issue, Advani said, "If the Rs 25 lakh crore stashed away to Swiss banks is brought back, all the six lakh villages in the country can be developed."

"If the British had looted Rs one lakh crore in 200 years of their rule, Rs25 lakh crore had been taken away by the corrupt forces in the country in 60 years," the BJP leader said.

Advani said the Swiss Government had passed in 2011 the Restitution of Illegal Assets Act at the insistence of western countries including the US, Germany and France, who got a resolution to the effect passed in the UN Security Council.

"Why is the Indian government shying away from taking action and bring back the black money?" he said.

PTI