NEW DELHI, Aug 31 (UNI): The BJP today expressed 'deep disappointment' over the stance taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the CBDT's appointment as special counsel in Income Tax cases before the Madras High Court, the spouse of Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
The party said at least the Prime Minister should have made the Finance Minister apologise to the nation for his 'act of impropriety'.
Conveying party's disappointment and concern, BJP spokespersons Sushma Swaraj and Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the Prime Minister always spoke on the need to maintain honesty, integrity, transparency in public life but it was not enough for a person to maintain clean life.
It is also important that he shall not support or condone the corrupt deeds of other people, they said adding that the Union Council of Ministers was already a congregation of corrupt men and the list was only becoming bigger.
While Finance Minister Chidambaram "should have apologised to the nation for the wrong things committed, it was CBDT which apologised to the Finance Minister for employing his wife Nalini Chidambaram to fight its cases." Chidambaram had contended that he would have nipped the proposal in the bud if he were in the know of things while his wife had returned the lawyer's fee.
"Their words and actions have only confirmed our allegations", Swaraj said.
Swaraj said the Prime Minister during his intervention in Parliament had pooh poohed the Opposition for raising the issue whereas the actions of Chidambaram and his wife had only confirmed the allegations levelled against them by the Opposition.
