No clean chit to Modi govt on Rafale from SC: Yechury

Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Saturday asserted that no clean chit has been given to the Narendra Modi government in the Rafale deal by the Supreme Court, which has "merely stated" that it did not have the jurisdiction to intervene in the matter.

The former Rajya Sabha member said the Opposition has, therefore, been seeking a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee, but the government appears to be wary of the same.

"There is no clean chit. It is a misleading propaganda by the BJP. The Supreme Court has merely said that a scam of this nature did not fall within its jurisdiction and hence, it could not entertain the petitions.

"And, that is exactly the reason why we and other Opposition parties have been demanding the JPC. If the Modi government has nothing to hide, it should not be afraid of agreeing to this demand," Yechury, who was here to address a rally, told reporters.

The CPI(M) general secretary rubbished doubts raised over whether a coalition of Opposition parties could take on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying people used to say similar things in 2004.

"People used to ask who after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But, the BJP lost power despite his leadership and its 'India Shining' campaign and Manmohan Singh went on to become the only Prime Minister, after Jawaharlal Nehru, to have remained in office for two consecutive terms," he said.

"The nation is outraged over the BJP's brazenly communal politics, its tinkering with institutions and its policies, which have led to soaring unemployment, even as those defaulting on huge loans taken from public sector banks have been allowed to flee the country," Yechury alleged.

The combined Opposition, he said, represents the voice of the people dissatisfied with the regime.

The "winds of change" are evident as NDA's allies, one after another, have started walking out of the BJP-led coalition, the CPI(M) politburo member said.

Yechury's remark came in the wake of the recent exit from the NDA of former Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha, who has joined the Congress-led UPA.