Team Anna provokes angry response from Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi: Hitting back at Team Anna, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has rejected their allegations of corruption against him as "unfair" and "self-seeking" and said, it reflected the lack of responsibility on behalf of those claiming to represent high standards of ethical behaviour.

Mukherjee, against whom the Team Anna has demanded a probe, said the "false" allegations against him were being levelled with "ulterior motive" and were "malafide" and suffered from "serious suppression of facts".

Facing stepped-up attack at a time when he has been fielded as a candidate for the post of the President, the Congress veteran reminded Anna Hazare and his team that they had thrown to winds all the morality professed by them by making such allegations.

"It is unfortunate that India Against Corruption that claims to represent high standards of ethical behaviour has thrown its professed moral grounds to winds...," said Mukherjee's letter addressed to Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia.

He was responding to a letter written by Team Anna to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh levelling the allegations.

"What compounds the unethicality is that the team has called for an investigation into the allegations that is the main prayer in the PIL without referring to the various orders passed by the High Court," it said.

Mukherjee said the "allegations (against him) are false, unfair, self-seeking, motivated, malafide and made with ulterior motive and lacking any form of responsibility".

Mukherjee also pointed out that the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), through Prashant Bhushan, filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), but it was dismissed as the petitioners would like to approach the Delhi High Court.

A CBI probe was ordered but the investigators said irregularities in the deal could not be established. On the War Room Leak case, it said an Air Force officer and three Naval officers were dismissed from service in connection with it and a CBI probe was ordered by then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"It is on the basis of the reference of the case by the Ministry of Defence that it was able to file the chargesheet against those accused, including Abhishek Verma and the case is pending trial in the court of ACCM," it said.
 

• Also See