Congress Party leader Jaipal Reddy described the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government as fascist and 'Hitlerite' on Monday while debating the no-confidence motion.

Taking Union Defence Minister George Fernandes to task, he described the defence minister's residence as den of 'arms dealers and middlemen'.

He accused the government of targeting certain communities deliberately.

He also reminded the treasury benches that his party had asked for the resignation of the Vajpayee government and not just that of Fernandes in wake of the Tehelka controversy.

He clarified this when members of the ruling party took objection to his reference to Mamata Banerjee that she had threatened to walk out of NDA government unless Fernandes was removed from the Cabinet.

"I know that the people have short memory but NDA has even shorter memory. They are trying to forget Tehelka," he said.

"The nation saw the president of the BJP Bangaru Laxman taking Rs 100,000 from Tehelka reporters," he said.

"The procurement agencies, I am not using the word defence forces, had become steeped in corruption after what we saw on the television. Even RSS chief K Sudarshan was shocked," he said.

"Accusing fingers pointed not only towards the ministry of defence but also towards the finance minister and the office of the prime minister," he said.

Vijay Kumar Malhotra, spokesperson for BJP parliamentary party, took strong exception to the allegations made by Reddy and said the rules that Shivraj Patil had cited while George Fernandes was reading out a portion of a book should also be applied on Reddy.

"I am making this statement with full sense of responsibility," Reddy retorted.

He took Fernandes to task for misusing Doordarshan for making a speech on the national hook up after he had tendered his resignation from the council of ministers.

"I would not call it Prasar Bharti but Parchar Bharti because it is advancing the cause of the BJP-led government. He told the nation that he would not rejoin the union council of ministers unless he is exonerated by Justice K Venkataswami Commission appointed by the government to go into the Tehelka defence," he said.

Malhotra took exception to the use of highflying words like surreptitiously being used by Reddy in his speech.

"I have read in a convent school and I cannot understand the high-flying words being used by Reddy. It is difficult to translate those words," Malhotra pleaded with Speaker of Lok Sabha Manohar Joshi.

Even Joshi seemed to be at loss to understand the words and asked Jaipal Reddy to use simple English to express his point.

Reddy also slammed the Vajpayee government for its rejection of a JPC inquiry in the Tehelka scam.

He alleged that Laxman's resignation and those of former Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitly and defence minister George Fernandes were a 'calculated and calibrated' red-herring to misguide the people and the nation.

"It is not only a story of bribery but trickery," Reddy alleged.

He said 9/11, 'which was a bane for the world proved to be a terrific boon for Fernandes', as he was reinducted by prime minister as the defence minister.

"George's return is a not only a case of collusion but sanction to shamelessness and effrontery," the Congress spokesman charged.

Referring to former Samata Party treasurer R K Jain, Reddy claimed he came to know highly classified information regarding defence secrets, wondering how it was possible.

He also referred to the Kanpur-based businessman Surendra Surekha who, Reddy alleged, had been to Fernandes' residence and was given Rs 14 crore soon as Fernandes was re-inducted.

He took grave exception to the defence minister's letter to himself and other opposition leaders. Fernandes had commended that they should read R V Pandit's book, which called for the resignation of the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Complete Coverage of the No-confidence Motion