The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday rubbished the Congress’ claims that the ruling party at the Centre was trying to cover up a huge telecom scam. While Congress spokesperson RS Surjewala accused the BJP of burying “under the carpet a massive telecom scam of Rs 45,000 crore” to help the Narendra Modi government’s “industrial friends”, BJP said the allegations were “utterly bogus”, The Indian Express reported.

However, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was telecom minister before Tuesday's Cabinet reshuffle, said the scam took place between 2006 and 2010, when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was in power. “The entire allegation of the Congress party is utterly bogus…According to CAG [Comptroller and Auditor General] reports, some telecom companies underreported their revenues [during the UPA’s term],” he said, adding that the Public Accounts Committee was looking into the reports on the matter.

Prasad further said that the Centre had examined the CAG reports and will ensure that “all dues are recovered with penalty”. He also accused the Congress of sharing “lies” in media briefings. “No wrong happened under the NDA [National Democratic Alliance] government, and to drag in a matter that happened under the UPA is a case of pot calling the kettle black,” he said.