New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) Congress leaders Friday targeted Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over his remarks that hinted at espionage in the ministry allegedly having taken place during the UPA regime and demanded an apology from him.
Party leader Manish Tewari demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the petroleum ministry document leakage case that had Thursday caused reverberations in the political and corporate circles.
Delhi Police Thursday arrested five people -- two ministry employees and three others -- for stealing documents and leaking them to corporate houses. Police Friday said a former journalist with an energy consultant has also been arrested in the case.
Tewari said Pradhan was "very quick" to blame the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and "claim that all this was going on during the UPA time".
"If he (Pradhan) has categorical information, put it out in public space or withdraw and publicly apologise for the irresponsible statement. It would also raise the question if the minister was concealing more than revealing," Tewari told IANS.
Tewari, a former union minister, said "self-serving explanations" were being trotted out.
"The matter needs full investigation under supervision of the highest court of the land," Tewari said.
He said the government should come out with the names of those who had allegedly benefited from the leaked information.
Senior Congress leader P.C. Chacko said Pradhan had stated that the leakage of documents was taking place during the UPA years.
"What is the proof? The offices (of the ministry) were opened at midnight and papers leaked. He (Pradhan) cannot absolve himself of the responsibility," Chacko said.
Pradhan had Thursday suggested that malpractices in the ministry were taking place during the UPA government.
"Everyone knows what was practised in the previous (government). The new government is taking precautions," he had said.
Board Exams: Supreme Court will hear on the petition to cancel the offline examinations of class 10th and 12th board
The Supreme Court has approved the hearing on the petition to cancel the offline examinations of all boards including CBSE, ICSE. Chief Justice NV Ramana allowed the petition and told that the matter
Kesari 2 got the support of PM Modi before its release, Akshay Kumar thanked the Prime Minister.
Akshay Kumar, R. Madhavan and Ananya Pandey starrer film 'Kesari: Chapter 2' is in the news these days. As soon as the trailer of this patriotic film came out, the curiosity of the audience has
Twitter New Work Policy: New Boss Of Twitter Ordered! work 12 hours a day seven days a week or quit
Elon Musk, the world's richest man and the new boss of Twitter, is known for his fast-paced decisions. Recently, after buying Twitter, he has made many quick decisions. In this sequence, an
After making Chennai the champion, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is going to become a father again! Is Wife Sakshi Pregnant?
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) led by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, popularly known as 'Captain Cool', defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs to win the IPL title for the fourth time on Friday
TDP 'Very Disappointed' with Budget
Hyderabad, Feb 28 (IANS) The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a partner in the NDA government, Saturday said it was "very disappointed" over the 2015-16 union budget.TDP parliamentarians and Andhra
Rebellion in Shiv Sena in the past: Shinde faction was ready to break the party if it did not go with BJP in 2014, Uddhav had to bow down
Eknath Shinde on Thursday released a video of 42 MLAs proving that he is now in command of the real Shiv Sena. After this, it is believed that the MLAs of the Shinde faction can separate from
Fashion no more a trivial pursuit: Manish Malhotra (Interview)
Mumbai, March 19 (IANS) The year 2015 is special for him as it marks his quarter century as a stylist for him and 10 years of his label Manish Malhotra. The designer, who has played a key role in
Countdown of lockdown starts, country will gallop from green zone
In the first phase of lockdown, where PM Modi gave the mantra of 'Jaan hai to jahan hai', in the second phase 'jaan bhi jahan too'. During the second phase itself, it was permitted to open
Lalit Modi-Sushmita will get married: Former IPL commissioner tweeted and called former Miss Universe better half, then cleaning - dating, will also get married
Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi announced his marriage to former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen on Twitter at around 6 pm on Thursday. He called Sushmita the better half. When the news came in the media,
Indian Railways / IRCTC: Check before booking the passenger ticket, Railways has canceled many trains by May 31; See list
Indian Railways / IRCTC, the second wave of Corona epidemic continues in the country. Railways have canceled many trains during the Corona crisis. Indian Railways has been canceling a large number of
