NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
The Congress sought to further embarrass the government over the Tehelka tapes scandal on Thursday by demanding to know the "personal equation" Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has with R K Gupta, a self-proclaimed middleman.
Party spokesman S Jaipal Reddy told reporters that a clarification was needed as Gupta, who is also a "RSS veteran", had claimed that Vajpayee had stayed in his Chandigarh house several times and visited his residence in Delhi thrice.
Besides, he said, Gupta's son Deepak had claimed to operate from the prime minister's office and get suggestions from Brajesh Mishra, principal secretary to Vajpayee.
"We do not know whether these statements are correct or not, but the prime minister cannot afford to, nor he be allowed to ignore these very important statements of Gupta and his son," Reddy said.
Stating that Vajpayee should "shed light on his well-concealed equation" with Gupta, Reddy said the prime minister should clarify whether he knew Gupta personally and in what manner and to what degree.
"The prime minister cannot simply shrug off all these questions by referring to his long years of service. The length of service or standing neither proves nor disproves anything."
PTI
The Complete Coverage | Defence sites
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
