CBI’s fling with media over Laloo case irks LS

I guess `autonomy' comes somewhere between `anarchy' and `chaos'. NEW DELHI, April 30: Members of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday questioned t...

I guess `autonomy’ comes somewhere between `anarchy’ and `chaos’.

NEW DELHI, April 30: Members of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday questioned the appropriateness of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Joginder Singh informing the media on Sunday of seeking the sanction of the Governor to prosecute Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Yadav in the multi-crore fodder scam.

Sharad Pawar, leader of the Congress in the House, felt that the impression gaining ground was that the CBI was being used with the intention of “kisi ko fix karna hai”. He wanted to know as to why an investigative agency was reporting

to the media.

“It creates doubts in the minds of people about the investigative agency,” he said. Pawar, however, made it clear that Laloo Yadav should step down in keeping with democratic norms.

Story continues below this ad

The Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML) leader G M Banatwalla was blunt. “What is so special about the Sunday which compelled the CBI director to make it public on a holiday?” he asked.

He was also critical of the provision which made it necessary to seek the sanction of the President or the Governor to prosecute public servants. He said that it violated the basic principle of equality before law.

At the beginning of the debate, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition leader Atal Behari Vajpayee said that the fallout of the fodder scam is of general concern and that members should rise above party affiliations while discussing it.

Somnath Chatterjee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also held the view that Laloo Yadav should step down but shot down the idea mooted by Sharad Yadav (Janata Dal) that there should be a special session to discuss the issue of corruption in public life because it was a cancerous growth eating at the vitals of the polity. Chatterjee said that mere discussion without commitment was of no consequence.

Story continues below this ad

Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar spoke his mind when he said that no purpose was served with the discussion in the House because it was wrong to presume that a man was guilty even before the charge-sheet was filed.

On the other hand, Nitish Kumar (Samata Party) had no reservation in seeking the resignation of Laloo Yadav, while Ram Naik (BJP) said that Prime Minister I K Gujral should not remain a silent spectator and that he should get a report from Bihar Governor about the situation.

The fodder scam was the `hot topic’ which the Lok Sabha could not ignore when it reassembled for the second half of the Budget session here on Wednesday. The zero hour was converted into a two-and-a-half-hour debate in the morning. Speaker P A Sangma asked Gujral whether he would like to respond to the debate though he was not obliged to do so because it was a zero hour debate.