Tuesday, December 6 2005 19:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Communist Party of India (CPI) today (Dec 06, 2005) said Congress should have handled Volcker issue with a 'little more sagacity' as the decision of Natwar Singh to resign from the Union Cabinet now would appear that the party has surrendered to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Congress should have acted with a little more sagacity. Now it would appear they have surrendered to BJP. Congress should have spoken in one voice and not in too many voices," CPI MP Gurudas Das Gupta told reporters here.

Dismissing the Opposition's demand for resignation of Sonia Gandhi as NAC Chairperson on the issue, he said, "it is a cock and bull story and we do not support mud slinging".

He said if Congress as a party is named in the oil payoffs scam, then by all moral standards the Government should go. "While Natwar Singh has been named as a person, Sonia Gandhi's name does not figure in the Volcker Committee report," he said explaining the difference between the two.

He said Singh should "step down with grace to take the wind out of sail of the pernicious campaign let loose by BJP."

Das Gupta charged BJP with indulging in 'absolute parliamentary terrorism' by 'paralysing' both Houses on the Volcker issue. "We believe paralysing Parliament as resorted to by BJP to force the resignation of a Minister is totally extra-constitutional," he said.

Stating that Parliament was being persistently disrupted 'on this or that plea' by BJP and its allies, he said so far this year, 62 hours have been lost costing Rs. seven crore to the exchequer.

He accused BJP of preventing discussions on floods in Tamil Nadu, enactment of law for unorganised workers, terrorism and national security besides India's stand on WTO.