Opposition pulls up Govt. over WikiLeaks disclosures

March 15th, 2011 - 6:39 pm ICT by ANI  

Mani Shankar Aiyar New Delhi, Mar 15 (ANI): The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday witnessed heated arguments as the Opposition sought clarification from the government on a series of disclosures made by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

Raising the issue, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) members, led by P Rajeeve and Brinda Karat demanded a response from the government on the WikiLeaks’ alleged disclosures on the Mumbai terror attacks, the cabinet reshuffle and other issues.

The matter was raised during Zero Hour by Rajeeve, who said that Mani Shankar Aiyar, seen by the US as “contentious and an outspoken Iran pipeline advocate”, was replaced by “pro-US” Murli Deora.

He said a chain of US embassy cables reveal the pro-US position of the Indian Government on several issues.

The CPM member, supported by his party colleagues, the BJP and the Shiv Sena, said there was also a reference in the cables to the inclusion of Saifuddin Soz, Anand Sharma, Ashwani Kumar and Kapil Sibal with strong pro-US credentials.

They revealed that India was not ready to share the details of investigations into 26/11 Mumbai attack with Pakistan initially. But after continuous pressure (from the US), the Home Minister agreed to share the information, he said.

The members demanded a response from the government but it was not acceded to by Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan.

Citing rules, Khan did not allow members to seek a response from the government. (ANI)

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