In the backdrop of the Supreme Court's remarks on delay by the prime minister in acting on plea for sanction of prosecution of A Raja in 2G spectrum case, Congress on Wednesday said it was "wrong and unfair" to say Manmohan Singh has not taken action against the former telecom minister.
"The prime minister has taken action. It is wrong and unfair to say he has not acted. Even before the CAG report was tabled in Parliament, which was the first official public document on the issue, it was the prime minister who secured the resignation of the telecom minister," party spokesperson Manish Tewari told mediapersons here replying to questions.
Replying to a specific question about the Apex Court's observations, he merely said, "The Supreme Court has asked the government a question and the government will give an appropriate reply tomorrow in court."
At the same time, Tewari said it would be inappropriate and uncalled for "second guess anything" on this issue.
The party's defence of the prime minister came on a day when the opposition launched a broadside asking him to explain in Parliament how this "murky affair" was allowed to go on for so long.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani said it was for the first time Supreme Court had "raised fingers" against a prime minister and Manmohan Singh should come out in public with his response to its observations on 2G Spectrum allocation.
"It is for the first time in the history of free India that the apex court has raised fingers against a PM. Singh should publicly respond to its 2G Spectrum observations immediately," Advani told an election meeting in Bihar.
The CPI(M) Politburo said, "The prime minister should explain in Parliament how this murky affair was allowed to go on for so long."
The Supreme Court had sought a clarification from the prime minister on the 11-month delay in sanctioning prosecution of Raja.
"It should be further asked why the prime minister refused to order a probe into the telecom scam for a longer period despite repeated requests", the Politburo said in a statement, pointing out that CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury had written to the prime minister in November 2008 and had sought an inquiry.
