Railway bribery scam: CBI should quiz Bansal, demands BJP

Intensifying attack on Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal over bribery charge against his nephew, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday demanded that the Congress leader be quizzed by the Central Bureau of Investigation to "unravel the conspiracy" in the case and a probe launched into alleged investments by him and his family.

"Bansal must be interrogated by the CBI...even the CBI in its application before the court has expressed its desire to unravel the conspiracy by interrogating all beneficiaries of the bribed money," BJP's legal cell head and national executive member Satyapal Jain told reporters in Chandigarh.

Tension prevailed outside the residence of Bansal as Chandigarh police used lathicharge to disperse protesting Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activists and rounded two of them.

The ABVP activists were marching towards the residence of Bansal when police used mild force to disperse them, officials said. The police and the Government Railway Police personnel have deployed in strength around the Minister's residence in the city.

Releasing documents, which purportedly showed relatives of Bansal as "directors" or "share holders" in companies, Jain alleged that the minister "appears to be one of the actors in the entire episode." "If Bansal is not guilty conscious he should have immediately ordered a probe as the matter concerns his railway ministry," he said.

Jain, a two time MP from the city, also questioned Bansal's "silence" over the scandal concerning his ministry.

The BJP alleged that Bansal's relatives were given contract of potable water supply in the railways by the minister and demanded all property deals by him and his relatives must be investigated. He warned that if Bansal tried to "hush up" the matter, the BJP would move the court.

"Bansal must be dismissed from the ministry forthwith," he said adding that the BJP would take up the case of bribery to its logical conclusion.

Jain claimed that in the list of directors of firms the relatives of Bansal had at several places given the address of his private residence in Sector 28 in the city.

Bansal's nephew Singla was arrested by the CBI on Friday on charge of accepting bribe to fix plum position in the railway board. The minister in the Congress core Group meeting had explained his position claiming that he had no business links with his nephew nor did he get influenced by him in decision-making.

Bansal had already distanced himself from his nephew Vijay Singla, who was arrested by the CBI on Friday night for allegedly accepting Rs 90 lakhs for fixing a better position for railway board member Mahesh Kumar.

In a statement, 64-year-old Bansal, who was made railway minister in October last year, had claimed he has always observed the highest standards of probity in public life and that nobody can influence his decisions. He had also sought an expeditious CBI inquiry into the issue.