Express News Service
Governor’s GambitCBI to pit Satyapal Malik against top J&K officials
The CBI is reportedly planning to confront former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik with the statements and evidence given by top officials of the border state in connection with two business proposals in which he claims to have been offered a bribe of Rs 300 crore. Malik has said that as the governor, he was offered money to clear files on an insurance scheme for state government officials and a power project. After his revelation, the CBI raided then-chairman of the Chenab Valley Power Projects, Navin Choudhary, an IAS officer. Sources said that Choudhary’s statement to the CBI contradicts Malik’s claim. The CBI has also spoken to former J&K chief secretary B V R Subramaniam about the cases referred to by Malik, sources said, while not ruling out the possibility of the agency recording statements of RSS central committee member Ram Madhav and former state finance minister Haseeb Drabu, the two persons, who, Malik claims, tried to influence him. The CBI has already recorded Malik’s statement on his allegations of corruption and is now busy comparing it with those of the then-top officials of the state to get to the bottom of the issue. Sources said the agency would soon return to the former governor with the evidence collected from officials to confront him regarding his claims.
Divided CongressRahul, Kharge pull in opposite directions over AAP
The Congress leadership has yet to decide on its ties with the Aam Aadmi Party. The two parties are directly pitted against each other in Delhi and Punjab and share opposition space in Gujarat and Goa. As the next Lok Sabha elections draw near, opposition parties try to assemble a grand alliance. There is also a buzz over the Congress and AAP entering into a seat-sharing agreement in four states, which account for 48 Lok Sabha seats. But recent events indicate that the Congress leadership is pulling in different directions on the issue. When the CBI summoned AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the alleged liquor scam in Delhi, there were reports that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called him up and expressed support. The opposition parties, including the Congress and AAP, have been raising the issue of the Union government’s alleged misuse of central agencies to target opposition leaders. They had even filed a joint petition in the Supreme Court. So, Kharge’s reported call to Kejriwal was in line with the general mood of the opposition. But former Congress general secretary Ajay Maken, an important party leader in Delhi, attacked Kejriwal, saying Kejriwal should not be shown any sympathy or support. He said, “It is important for all political leaders, including those from Congress, to recognize that the money gained through corrupt means by Kejriwal has been used against Congress in several states…” Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa, who is the leader of the opposition in Punjab, where AAP and Congress are locked in a direct fight in the ongoing Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelection, echoed Maken and said, “Kejriwal deserves no mercy”. Sources said their former president Rahul Gandhi endorsed the line taken by Maken and Bajwa. The conflicting signals from the party leadership have left the Congress workers in Delhi, and Punjab confused over relations with AAP.
Governor’s Gambit
CBI to pit Satyapal Malik against top J&K officials
The CBI is reportedly planning to confront former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik with the statements and evidence given by top officials of the border state in connection with two business proposals in which he claims to have been offered a bribe of Rs 300 crore. Malik has said that as the governor, he was offered money to clear files on an insurance scheme for state government officials and a power project. After his revelation, the CBI raided then-chairman of the Chenab Valley Power Projects, Navin Choudhary, an IAS officer. Sources said that Choudhary’s statement to the CBI contradicts Malik’s claim. The CBI has also spoken to former J&K chief secretary B V R Subramaniam about the cases referred to by Malik, sources said, while not ruling out the possibility of the agency recording statements of RSS central committee member Ram Madhav and former state finance minister Haseeb Drabu, the two persons, who, Malik claims, tried to influence him. The CBI has already recorded Malik’s statement on his allegations of corruption and is now busy comparing it with those of the then-top officials of the state to get to the bottom of the issue. Sources said the agency would soon return to the former governor with the evidence collected from officials to confront him regarding his claims.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Divided Congress
Rahul, Kharge pull in opposite directions over AAP
The Congress leadership has yet to decide on its ties with the Aam Aadmi Party. The two parties are directly pitted against each other in Delhi and Punjab and share opposition space in Gujarat and Goa. As the next Lok Sabha elections draw near, opposition parties try to assemble a grand alliance. There is also a buzz over the Congress and AAP entering into a seat-sharing agreement in four states, which account for 48 Lok Sabha seats. But recent events indicate that the Congress leadership is pulling in different directions on the issue. When the CBI summoned AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the alleged liquor scam in Delhi, there were reports that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called him up and expressed support. The opposition parties, including the Congress and AAP, have been raising the issue of the Union government’s alleged misuse of central agencies to target opposition leaders. They had even filed a joint petition in the Supreme Court. So, Kharge’s reported call to Kejriwal was in line with the general mood of the opposition. But former Congress general secretary Ajay Maken, an important party leader in Delhi, attacked Kejriwal, saying Kejriwal should not be shown any sympathy or support. He said, “It is important for all political leaders, including those from Congress, to recognize that the money gained through corrupt means by Kejriwal has been used against Congress in several states…” Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa, who is the leader of the opposition in Punjab, where AAP and Congress are locked in a direct fight in the ongoing Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelection, echoed Maken and said, “Kejriwal deserves no mercy”. Sources said their former president Rahul Gandhi endorsed the line taken by Maken and Bajwa. The conflicting signals from the party leadership have left the Congress workers in Delhi, and Punjab confused over relations with AAP.
