Sonia attacks Modi for 'maun vrat' on party scandals

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on any issue taking a controversial turn, notably the recent ones involving the external affairs minister and two chief ministers.

She said: "Parliamentary majority does not give anyone a license to escape accountability."

Gandhi also ruled out any change of stand in the party's position in parliament till such time action is not taken against those responsible for "gross wrong-doings".

"There is a mountain of incontrovertible evidence in public domain for PM to require resignations of EAM (Sushma Swaraj) and the two CMs," the party's official Twitter account quoted Gandhi as saying.

Besides Sushma Swaraj, the reference was to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

"The '#MannKibaat' man appears to retreat into a 'Maun Vrat' (vow of silence) whenever there is a scandal involving his colleagues," she said.

"No productive discussions,no meaningful proceedings as long as action is not taken against those responsible for "gross wrong-doings".

Gandhi said while the prime minister never missed an opportunity to claim moral high ground on transparency, integrity and accountability, he maintained a "deafening silence" on some blatant transgressions by his party leaders.

"We're nt being aggressive just to match BJP's aggression of past, we are forced to take our position bcoz of BJP's brazen attitude," she said.