BJP charges would be replied to in Parliament: PC

New Delhi: Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said that the Government would reply to BJP's charges on 2G and other issues in Parliament but felt that the step up in its attack ran parallel to the pace of investigations in some terror cases.

"There is no allegation...when the debate is raised in Parliament the government will reply to the debate. The allegations made by the BJP, a political party, will be replied by the Congress party's spokespersons," he told a press conference.

The Home Minister refused to be drawn into a controversy over the BJP's remarks over the Prime Minister statement about many skeletons in the cupboard of the opposition parties.

"I do not want to comment on what the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition said. There is some room for give and take in politics.

"Statements are made but I think what is important is we get on with the business of Parliament and anything raised in Parliament, any issue raised in the debate and if the presiding officer permits the debate certainly the government will reply to the debate," he said.

Replying to a volley of questions on 2G scam and remarks made by the BJP, Chidambaram said there are no allegations that "I have to reply or the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) will have to reply to outside Parliament."

The Home Minister maintained that anything raised in Parliament deserves a reply and will be replied. "Now that the Parliament is in session, that is all I can say now, we will reply in the Parliament."

Chidambaram was asked a question by a reporter about his interview to PTI last week in which he had linked BJP's attack on him and other ministers as a direct fall out of the probe being made into terror related cases involving right wing groups.

When asked that BJP had termed his statement as unrelated, Chidambaram said "I am not not sure whether they are entirely unrelated. I think that the step up of attack is running parallel to the pace of investigations."

To a question as to why Congress spokesperson was only defending the Prime Minister and not him in the 2G case, he smiled and replied "now I think they are targeting the Prime Minister more than me.

"Well, all I can say is that there must be some reasons to target us. Although they know and privately a number of BJP leaders have told me that they don't believe in what some of their colleagues say," he said.

To a question that former Telecom Minister A Raja had demanded that Chidambaram should be summoned to the court as a witness, the Home Minister said "arguments by a counsel in a court of law are arguments. No more."

Asked what if the court summoned him in the 2G case as a witness, Chidambaram referred to a Tamil proverb which said 'when aunt grows moustache, she becomes uncle' suggesting that he would not reply to hypothetical questions.