BJP seizes on Thungan conviction in graft case to hit back at

Under attack on Vyapam scam and Lalit Modi row, BJP today seized on the conviction of former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister P K Thungan in a graft case and sought to question Congress' credentials to raise the issue of corruption and stall parliament.
BJP said skeletons of yesteryears continued to tumble out of Congress closet even now and it had no moral authority to talk of corruption and stall Parliament run on public money.
"Congress is talking of corruption, skeletons of corruption of yesteryears are tumbling out of its closet," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said raising the conviction of Thungan, a veteran Congress MP from North East, who had been a two-time Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh and twice a Union Minister.

Patra, who was flanked by two Union Ministers Kiran Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh and Sarbananda Sonowal of Assam, asked Congress to introspect and own up its leader convicted two days ago for corruption.
"Such is the level of corruption in Congress that ages have passed, the age of Indira Gandhi is over but still the corruption cases of that age is existing.
"This is called fossilised corruption. The corruption which does not die, the corruption which lives forever during the reign of Congress and look at the shamelessness of Congress that it is trying to gain a high moral ground as far as corruption is concerned," he said. PTI SKC

Rijiju said since Thungan was a prominent Congress leader from North East and was the chief minister for two terms and a two-time union minister, Congress should not "disown" him.

"Congress should own responsibility for the conviction of one of its very senior leaders," he said.
Patra said Thungan was considered a close confidante of Indira Gandhi.
"Today, if Congress needs to do something, it is introspection," he said.
He alleged Congress, which is responsible for some of the biggest scams of the country, has stalled Parliament.
"Congress should be introspecting, Congress should be asking questions from its own Ministers and Congress and refrain from wasting tax-payers' money when the government is ready to discuss, debate and reach a decision," he said.