New Delhi: Rejecting the charge of his involvement in alleged bribes in the purchase of coffins for Kargil martyrs, Defence Minister George Fernandes on August 18 attacked in the Lok Sabha the leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi for the campaign of calumny against him on the issue of defence deals and national security.

In a hard-hitting intervention in the debate on the no-confidence motion punctuated by repeated attacks on Gandhi, he said if he had made money out of jawans blood, "I am not fit to be a member of the House."

Throwing the gauntlet at Gandhi, the Defence Minister said House rules provide for punishing those who speak lie. "If I have spoken a lie, I should be punished. Similarly, if the leader of the Opposition has done so, she should be punished," he said.

Congress members reacted strongly when Fernandes at the end of his nearly 90-minute speech said he would request Gandhi to help extradite Ottavio Quattrocchi, one of the accused in the Bofors pay offs. "It will be a great job," he said.

PTI