There is nothing official about it. But in the run-up to the assembly elections and the winter session of Parliament, the UPA Government has decided to go for the Opposition's jugular. It has compiled a list of scams that allegedly took place during the NDA rule and has mooted an informal five-member panel to recommend inquiries into them. If the Congress persists with its plans, the targets of an offensive will include former ministers George Fernandes, Jagmohan, Ananth Kumar, Ram Naik and Sahib Singh Verma (see box). Even former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, against whom graft charges have rarely stuck, is a likely target.

PICTURE SPEAK

STANDOFF: Manmohan, who was against the offensive, with Vajpayee

Sources in the UPA say Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not keen on the idea, but there was pressure from sections of the Congress, the Left and other UPA allies like the RJD to pin the Opposition on the mat.

The plan for the witchhunt was hatched during a recent meeting, at 7 Race Course Road, attended by the prime minister, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Union ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sonia's Political Secretary Ahmed Patel. Senior ministers, several of whom are busily engaged in digging up dirt in their departments to pelt their predecessors, are mounting pressure for probes into alleged scandals in the ministries of disinvestment, defence and telecommunications. But the members of the panel would like to proceed cautiously to avoid charges of a vendetta. Extensive documentation and legal scrutiny will be undertaken before proceeding to the stage of formal inquiry and the Congress is confident it will have enough political ammunition. As a senior minister says, "We must have some stick apart from Nathuram Godse with which to beat the BJP."

CHARGE SHEET

LAND SCAM Alleges that as urban development ministers, Jagmohan and Ananth Kumar gifted away land worth over Rs 3,400 crore to Parivar outfits. COFFIN DEAL Charges that George Fernandes ordered his ministry to buy coffins at high prices during the Kargil war. TEHELKA SCANDAL Expedite inquiry into defence deals. AK-47 CONTROVERSY Accuses the Home Ministry of awarding contract to a Bulgarian firm despite cheaper offers. COAL IMBROGLIO Alleges that S.S. Verma earned high premia in the sale of coal.

A minister conceded that one reason for the new offensive was the fear among Congressmen of some of the party leaders being named in the Telgi scam. It was imperative in such a scenario for the Congress to have plans for a counterattack. There is a feeling within the Congress that the threat of exposure could bring the NDA to the negotiating table. Confrontation of the kind witnessed between the Opposition and the Treasury benches during the budget session which had virtually paralysed the Parliament, could be avoided if the NDA was put on the defensive.

The BJP has already cried foul, with party MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra saying, "They want to deflect attention from rising inflation, mishandling of the Northeast, the scrapping of POTA and most of all, the Manmohan-Musharraf joint statement which ignored the issue of cross-border terrorism." He called the plan "a witchhunt without parallel anywhere in the world".

The Congress' response is that the party is merely fulfilling the promise it made in its election manifesto to root out corruption.

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