New Delhi: Dissatisfied over the reply of ruling coalition on issues raised by party chief Sonia Gandhi, Congress on August 19 said it would decide whether to participate in voting on the no-confidence motion against Vajpayee government only after the Prime Minister's intervention.

"The nine issues raised by the leader of Opposition have remained unanswered. We will see if Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee gives satisfactory answers or not. We will decide whether to participate in voting or boycott it only after his intervention," Congress leader Shivraj Patil told reporters.

Asked about Defence Minister George Fernandes challenging Gandhi to produce evidence to substantiate her charges on corruption in defence deals, Patil said all these evidences are with Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and have been reported widely.

"They (ruling coalition) are unable to answer the issues raised by Congress and instead of providing evidence to CAG on defence purchases, they are asking us to produce evidence," he said.

On the failure of the Defence Ministry to utilise budget money, he said it was a serious "mistake" and would affect defence preparedness.

PTI