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New Delhi, Mar 17 (ANI): With the Opposition targeting the UPA Government over a WikiLeaks disclosure that indicated that the Congress paid lawmakers to survive a vote of confidence in 2008, Congress leader Rajeev Shukla criticizing the Opposition for disrupting the Parliament on Thursday said the whole world has rejected the WikiLeaks reports.

Demanding an apology from the Opposition for disrupting the proceedings inside the House, Shukla said: “The whole world has rejected the WikiLeaks reports. Because if a diplomat is writing to his own sovereign government I do not think any government can take responsibility for it.”

“You cannot stall the functioning of Parliament for this and you are not letting the Minister speak. Opposition particularly BJP should tender an apology to the government for its conduct in the House,” he added.

Further speaking in defence of the government, Shukla said: “These are (Wikileaks cables) internal communications between the embassies and their respective governments. These are diplomatic channels. How can other government take responsibility for that?”

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran L.K. Advani earlier today demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, over the issue.

Talking to reporters here, Advani said: “The Prime Minister must take responsibility and resign…he has no moral authority to lead the government.”

The prime minister must quit forthwith,” he said, adding that in July 2008 also, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had maintained that the vote of confidence won by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was influenced by bribery.

Advani further said that that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s defence that the matter had ended with the 14th Lok Sabha was an ‘incredible’ defence.

“There is no end to scandal and stinks that accompany this government,” he said.

“After this exposure, we say that this government has lost its moral right to continue for a single moment,” Advani added.

Defending the Prime Minister, Mukherjee earlier said it was not possible for the government to either confirm or deny the contents of the cables.

“I cannot either confirm this or deny the WikiLeaks revelation. The Government elected is accountable to the 15th Lok Sabha and not to the 14th Lok Sabha,” Mukherjee said.

Earlier, a set of India-related diplomatic cables on the Indo-US nuclear deal released by the WikiLeaks, claims that an aide of Congress leader Satish Sharma had told a US diplomat that the party had paid crores to several lawmakers to ensure that they voted for the deal in Parliament.

In a cable dated July 17, 2008 sent to the US State Department, Charge d’Affaires Steven White wrote about a conversation that the embassy’s political counsellor had with Rajya Sabha MP Satish Sharma. (ANI)