‘Tainted’ Manmohan must go: BJP

NEW DELHI: With CBI questioning two formerPMO officials in the coal scam, BJP on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying he is “tainted” and should step down to ensure fair probe.

“A tainted Prime Minister has to step down so that there can be a fair investigation into the criminal offence conducted by his office. A person who is tainted cannot be heading the very organizationwhich is investigating his office,” BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said here.

Questioning the Coal scam probe carried out by CBI which was working directly under the PMO, she said, “What kind of fair investigation we are expecting from officers who are reporting to PM directly? And they are supposed to investigate the role of the PMO andthe Prime Minister who was the then coal minister.”

Lekhi said it will be in the country’s interest that truth on this matter must come out expeditiously. “It is to be investigated whether PM acted of his own or was part of a larger conspiracy and was only complying with his role.”

She alleged that CBI is being “misused and manipulated” in both coal and Ishrat Jahan cases.

No mandatory procedure was followed either in selecting the companies or in refusing the allocations, she claimed. “That is the strangest form of allocations we have seen.”

“Only after the interrogation of the tainted PM the details of the conspiracy will be unravelled,” she said.

The coal block allocation scam is India’s “hall of shame” and has exposed the UPA government’s “corrupt” empire headed by (PM) Manmohan Singh, the BJP spokesperson said.