Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) on Monday welcomed the resignation of Union Communication And Information Technology Minister A Raja who was accused of being involved in 2G spectrum scam.
PRP political affairs committee member C Ramachandraiah demanded that the government punish all those who were involved in the 2G spectrum scam to the tune of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore. He said that the 2G allocations be revoked and re-allotted so that the exchequer did not lose out.
The PRP leader added that ordering a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe would be useless since the report submitted by the Comptroller And Auditor General was already being examined by the Public Accounts Committee. Only a thorough probe by the Central Bureau of Investigations could have any effect, he added.
Ramachandraiah appreciated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for forcing minister Raja to resign without bowing to the pressures from their ally, the DMK.
The former Rajya Sabha member said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, by not bowing to the pressure, had given the message that irregularities would not tolerated. This can be derived from the fact that the centre did not hesitate in removing Suresh Kalmadi from the post of Parliamentary Party Secretary after allegations of corruption in Commonwealth Games were raised against him, and then forcing former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan to resign after his involvement in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
Ramachandraiah added that people would gain confidence in the government when those who had taken advantage of power given to them were punished according to law.