Patna: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday alleged irregularities to the tune of Rs 2.6 crore in purchase of medical equipment in Bihar and said the needle of suspicion points towards former chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Modi, who is also Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council, demanded a CBI enquiry into all irregularities related to the medicine and medical equipment scam.
"The AG (Audit) in its report dated August 20 has found financial irregularities of Rs 1.85 crore in the purchase of medical equipment worth Rs 23.09 crore by Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation (BMSICL). It has also detected irregularities of Rs 80.24 lakh in the installation of equipment. All this happened during 2013," he said.
Reading out from the AG (Audit) report, copies of which have been sent to State Health Society Bihar (SHSB) Executive Director and Director-in-Chief of Health Department, Modi said the AG (Audit) has detected that 12 purchase orders were finalised on the basis of single financial bids, rejecting other bidders either in technical bidding or in demonstration of equipment without any valid reason.
He said that the report mentions case by case enquiry into the purchase orders.
"All the irregularities happened when the then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was also holding the Health portfolio and his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Sanjay Kumar was Health Secretary and Chairman of the Purchase Committee. The figures of financial irregularity will increase if extensive investigations were conducted," said Modi.
"The entire matter is very complicated and its layers will be revealed only if there is a CBI enquiry. We fear the scam is not limited only to the purchase of medicines and medical equipment, but also to construction of medical infrastructure by BMSICL," he added.
