Digvijay Singh holds fire on Scorpene data leak issue

He said his party does not believe in playing politics on sensitive matters

Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Saturday declined to make adverse comment against the Modi government over the Scorpene data leak and said his party does not believe in playing politics on sensitive matters.

"Congress party does not do politics on such matters. It is a very sensitive matter," Singh said, responding to a question by a journalist on the leak.

"The Ministry of Defence and the government of India must hold a high-level inquiry and find out the culprit behind the leak. Information about such an important submarine has come out," the AICC general secretary said.

"I cannot make a statement where the issue of national security is concerned at a press conference when I am not really aware of the facts," he said when journalists continued to ask questions on the issue.

Singh's stand was in contrast to Congress' official position on the issue. When media reports about the leak surfaced, the main Opposition party termed the disclosure as "scandalous" and accused Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar of launching an "operation cover-up".

Media reports suggested that documents detailing the secret combat capabilities of Scorpene-class submarines that French shipbuilder DCNS has designed for the Indian Navy have been leaked.