HVK Archives: Somnath censured for role in LS fodder scam debate
Somnath censured for role in LS fodder scam debate - The Economic Times
Political Bureau
()
2 May 1997
Title : Somnath censured for role in LS fodder scam debate
Author : Political Bureau
Publication : The Economic Times
Date : May 2, 1997
The CPI(M) general secretary, Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet, has
repudiated the line taken by the leader of the party in the Lok
Sabha, Mr Somnath Chatterjee alleging a nexus between the CBI and
the Bharatiya Janata p".
In what amounts to a virtual censure of Mr Chatterjee who had
yesterday, first in the Lok Sabha and later at a press conference,
had cited the leakage of details of the fodder seam case to Mr Atal
Behari Vajpayee, the party general secretary has held that the
attack on the CBI would be tantamount to shielding the Bihar chief
minister, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav.
Mr Surjeet took his hard-line stance within hours of Mr
Chatterjee's press conference and went to the unusual length of
putting out in a press release. "It has been brought to my notice
that when the whole country is seized of the fodder scam in which
the Bihar chief minister along with two ministers have been named
some politicians are trying to provide a cover up to them by
concentrating fire against the CBI" said Mr Surjeet. "It must be
known," he further said," that in the last 11 months the CBI has
unearthed many cases and exposed to what extent this whole system
is corrupted, endangering the democratic fabric of our society".
He followed up on the strong defence of the CBI by stressing that
effort should be made to denigrate investigation of the CBI which
recently have made a good work".
While the veteran Marxists spring to the defence of the CBI chief
even by rubbing his own comrade the wrong way is certainly a
development extraordinary from the party's standards, it acquires
significance for other reasons too. Coming at a time when the CBI
chief is under fire both for the manner in which he made a show of
his decision to prosecute Mr Yadav on a Sunday as well as the
leakage of the yet-to-be filed chargesheet against the Biher chief
minister, this may be seen as aimed at pre-empting any move to ease
out Mr Joginder Singh.
It has been established now that the CBI chief did not consult the
Prime Minister, I K Gujral before striking against Mr Yadav. Nor is
the speculation that Mr Singh moved to pre-empt being replaced by
Mr D R Kartikeyan, deemed entirely baseless. All these have led
many to feel that Mr Singh may be in for some trouble.
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