New Delhi: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday came under severe attack from opposition BJP in Delhi Assembly for seeking Home Minister P Chidambaram`s intervention in not allowing the CBI to examine the role of former NDMC chairman Parimal Rai in an alleged CWG graft case.
The matter was raised by senior BJP MLA Karan Singh Tanwar, which was strongly objected by the ruling Congress MLAs.
Tanwar was later suspended from the House by Speaker Yoganand Shastri for "not adhering" to prescribed conduct.
The suspension of the MLA was vociferously protested by the BJP legislators.
Leader of opposition V K Malhotra, later talking to reporters, criticised Dikshit for sending a letter to Chidambaram seeking to "protect" the official from CBI investigation.
"Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised action against all those guilty of corruption in CWG projects. But the Chief Minister is trying to sheild the corrupt," he alleged.
Another senior BJP MLA Jagdish Mukhi said the official was facing serious cases of alleged corruption and Dikshit`s demand to the Home Minister was not "at all acceptable".
Tanwar alleged that Dikshit was trying to influence the probe agency.
In a letter to Chidambaram last month, Dikshit noted that a number of officers had to take certain decisions bypassing laid down norms and procedures to ensure speedy implementation of the CWG projects and due care must be taken in allowing any investigation against them.
The CBI is currently probing alleged irregularities in a number of CWG projects and the probe agency had approached the Home Ministry to examine the role of Rai in execution of NDMC`s convention Centre in Connaught Place.
A 1985-batch IAS officer, Rai was made Delhi`s Power Secretary in August 2011 and was transferred to Goa last month.
Describing Rai as an "upright" officer, Dikshit had said that there was a need to protect the officers who worked very hard in ensuring speedy completion of the CWG projects despite various hurdles.
Rai had also written a letter to Dikshit in which he cited various success stories of the NDMC under his leadership.
PTI
