Choppergate and Shinde’s remark to echo in Budget session

The Chopper scam and the equating of saffron colour with Hindu terrorism by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde are the two issues to figure prominently in the budget session of Parliament. The Budget session of Parliament is going to be greeted with Choppergate by the Opposition party to reinforce the view among the public that Manmohan Singh -led UPA government is ridden with scams and scandals. No session of Parliament in the UPA-II tenure so far has functioned smoothly. And almost all the sessions have been forced to adjourn on the issues of corruption and price rise. UPA government in the last four years has failed miserably to root out corruption and check price rise. Scams have surfaced at regular intervals and Chopper scam is the latest one. Though the honesty and integrity of Union Defence Minister A K is unquestioned, merely regretting the corrupt practices that have resulted in VVIP Chopper Scam can not serve the purpose. A K Antony is considered to be one of the honest Congress leaders in the nation. No body doubts the personal honesty and integrity of both Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A K Antony. But the people can not condone the PM for the spate of scandals right under his nose. PM and Defence Minister need to take immediate measures to prevent corrupt practices. There is a perception among the people that if Prime Minister Mohan Singh would have timely intervened in the process during which 2G Spectrums were allotted; there would have been no scam of huge magnitude. The same has happened with Coalgate. Antony is expected to face the opposition salvo with brave face in Parliament. The budget session of the Parliament is going to be stormy one in view of the Chopper Scam. With the surfacing of Chopper Scam, Anotony immediately ordered for a CBI probe. Despite the reservation of one of his Cabinet colleagues, Antony was reportedly prepared to cancel the VVIP Chopper scam. But as a Prime Minister or minister, one should have proper vigilance on the functioning of his ministry. If in PMO or ministry corrupt practice is carried, the head of the office can not be absolved of responsible even if he has done nothing with it.