Rahul's opposition to ordinance a 'farce', PM should quit: BJP

Allahabad, Oct 2: Describing as a "farce" Rahul Gandhi's opposition to the ordinance on convicted lawmakers, BJP on Wednesday said his concern at this juncture gives rise to "serious doubts" as he did not utter "a single word" when the country was witnessing "scams after scams".

"Gandhi's show of concern gives rise to serious doubts. The country has witnessed scam after scam during the last nine years while his party has been in power. "We never heard a single word from the Congress Vice President on the 2G scam, the coal block allocation scam or the irregularities in the Commonwealth Games," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.

He trashed Congress' charge that BJP was not opposed to the ordinance. "If the ordinance is withdrawn, the credit will go to the public outcry against the move aimed at overturning a Supreme Court order against tainted lawmakers. "The BJP has been giving voice to the people's anger against corruption inside Parliament as well as on other forums.

Rahul Gandhi's stance on the issue is just a farce," the BJP's Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha said. The former Union minister, however, claimed that "the way Gandhi went about calling the ordinance a nonsense, and that it deserved to be torn and thrown away, is an undisguised insult to the Prime Minister.

Rahul Gandhi's stance on the issue is just a farce, Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

"We have been an opposition party and though we may have opposed many decisions of the PM, we have taken care not to ridicule the high office". He said that the Prime Minister should have put in his papers due to the "disrespect".

"We wonder why Manmohan Singh has not tendered his resignation in protest against the blatant show of disrespect. He will be devaluing the institution of the Prime Minister if he stays in the office, putting up with the humiliation," the BJP national spokesman said.

PTI