Ahmedabad, Oct 15 (ANI): Charging the ruling Congress Party of running away from investigation on every scandal taking place in the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, who is facing allegations of forging signature of officials to benefit the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, should tender his resignation from the Manmohan Singh-led UPA II Government so that a free and fair investigation is conducted into the matter.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that the Congress Party is at the moment not ready to give a befitting reply to anybody's question.
"In today's scenario, the Congress is running away from inquiry on every scandal. The BJP believes that the Congress is running away from inquiry on every scandal that is taking place. They are not ready to answer to anybody's questions," she said.
Sitharaman further said that a fair, free and open trial or investigation much before the trial couldn't be conducted if the Law Minister continues to remain in office.
""We have said this in the context of coal scam also. When the CBI of this country, which is a premier investigative agency, is going to inquire into the coal scam with the CBI reporting to the Prime Minister there will not be a possibility of a fair, free and open trial or investigation much before the trial. The same law applies here," said Sitharaman.
"So if it is the Law Minister and his trust about which an inquiry has to happen, certainly by his position the expectation that there will be a free and fair inquiry cannot be met," she added, when asked whether Khurshid should tender his resignation so that a fair investigation is conducted
Sitharaman further pointed out that it is important that a complete independent inquiry is done on this matter.
"And certainly if there is nothing to worry, the Union Law Minister should be ready for an open inquiry," she added.
RTI crusader and Indian Against Corruption (IAC) activist Arvind Kejriwal earlier today produced the testimonies of people to counter Salman Khurshid's defence over embezzlement of funds by the trust run by the latter and his wife.
Kejriwal, who produced the testimony of people to prove his claim, alleged that Khurshid is trying to cover misappropriation of funds.
"Khurshid has proven nothing. Salman Khurshid played fraud by showing wrong pictures. Khurshid showed 2010-11 pictures, but the fund embezzlement took place in 2009," said Khurshid while addressing his supporters at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
"The beneficiaries don't exist on given addresses. One of the beneficiaries was not handicapped. Khurshid's trust doled out funds to non-existent beneficiaries. The listed beneficiaries deny attending camps, availing benefits," he added.
Kejriwal, who demanded a SIT probe into the allegations, also hit out at the ruling Congress Party for coming out in defence of the Law Minister.
Alleging that Salman Khurshid did not reply to their questions on the trust controversy, Kejriwal earlier demanded that Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi should speak out on the issue and that the Law Minister should be arrested.
"He did not answer any of the five questions raised by us. He says he won't answer to the people of the streets.... He is misleading people," Kejriwal told the protestors at Parliament Street here on Sunday.
"If the Prime Minister feels that there is no need for Khurshid to resign, let it be. Then we will field a disabled person as a candidate against him and defeat him in the next elections," he added.
Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy had earlier on Sunday charged Kejriwal with trying to gain cheap popularity by levelling charges against Salman Khurshid in connection with a family-run trust.
"This is cheap popularity. He does not know what is democracy, parliamentary procedures. He wants popularity and is using the media for this," Narayanasamy told mediapersons in Chennai on Sunday.
"Kejriwal is maligning people. He will feel the heat and learn a lesson," he added.
Salman Khurshid had earlier strongly rebutted the charges made against him and his wife Louise by a private media group of misappropriation of funds allotted to their NGO.
Addressing a press conference along with his wife Louise here on Sunday, Khurshid asserted that the camps for the disabled, organised by his Dr. Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, were held at different places in Uttar Pradesh.
Khurshid showed pictures of camps organized for the differently-abled persons in various places to refute allegations that the camps had not really been held.
He also showed a picture of an officer whose signatures were claimed to be forged by the Trust, attending one such camp.
Khurshid said that after the trust approached the CAG regarding the comments against the NGO in its draft report, CAG asked them to furnish relevant documents and assured that their final report would be made only after consideration of such proof. (ANI)
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