New Delhi: "Baffled" over Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's allegation that the mastermind of the stamp paper scam Abdul Karim Telgi was its worker, Congress today (May 4, 2004) charged that it was the PMO, which had got Deputy Manager of Nasik Government Printing Press, Ganga Prasad, an accused, re-transferred to Nasik from Hyderabad.

"Prime Minister's statement is baffling as a person occupying the highest office is making a charge that Congress party is responsible for corruption... Vajpayee himself has to be reminded that it was his office, which intervened several times and got Prasad transferred back to Nasik Press," party spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters.

Pointing out that there was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena Government in Maharashtra when fake stamp paper scam flourished, he charged, "The then Finance Minister, at the behest of PMO, taking advantage of the absence of his Deputy Baba Saheb Vikhe Patil, re-transferred" Prasad, one of the main accused in the scam, to Nasik Press from Hyderabad.

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Patil was opposed to the re-transfer of Prasad, he said, adding Vajpayee himself had spoken to Patil but when he refused PMO approached the Finance Minister in the matter.

Sharma wanted that the Government must make public all the correspondence between PMO and the Finance Ministry with regard to the transfer of Prasad back to Nasik Press.

Assailing Vajpayee's statement asking Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to refrain from levelling corruption charges against BJP-led NDA, he said this shows the character of the "scandal-ridden" party, which was not even ready to listen to its corruption records relating to Tehelka, UTI, petrol pump, land scam and so on.