Chennai, Feb 9 (IANS) AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to speak up on the major corruption scams that have rocked the country.

Referring to a controversial deal between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Devas Multimedia, she said: "It is a national shame that scams running to lakhs of crores of rupees are tumbling out of the UPA government's closet with monotonous regularity.

"How the prime minister, an economist of repute, can be a silent accomplice to such gross misdemeanours is beyond me," the former Tamil Nadu chief minister said in a statement.

The agreement relates to ISRO's launching of two satellites for Devas that allegedly brought huge benefits to the company at the cost of the national exchequer. ISRO has said no loss accrued from the deal.

"Manmohan Singh has to break his silence and come clean. Otherwise the people will lose faith in the central government and the nation will become a laughing stock before the whole world," Jayalalithaa said.

She said a thorough inquiry had to be initiated to find out how precious national resources were so flippantly being frittered away and who the real beneficiaries of such largesse were.

The government is also probing allegations that its former communications minister A. Raja gave away second generation spectrum at below the market prices. Raja is now in custody.

The Manmohan Singh government has also been hit charges of major financial irregularities in the organization of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.