Dharamsala: A former Congress minister in
Himachal on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to order a high-level probe into "corruption charges" against his Cabinet
colleague Virbhadra Singh on the lines of ongoing inquiry
against former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda.
"Have him (Singh) investigated on the same pattern as
Madhu Koda," Vijay Singh Mankotia, whose audio CD on Singh
formed the basis of a graft case registered by the vigilance
department against the latter, wrote in a letter to the Prime
Minister.
A copy of the letter has also been faxed to UPA chief
Sonia Gandhi.
"There is not just one Madhu Koda who has looted and
plundered wealth of unbelievable proportions. There are many
others who shall be probed," he said in the letter demanding
a probe against the Union Steel Minister.
Mankotia, who served as a minister in the Congress
government headed by Singh in Himachal Pradesh from 2003-7 but
was later dropped in bid to prune the cabinet, is a known
detractor of Singh in HP politics.
Earlier, he had released an audio CD against Singh,
who served as Chief Minister of HP for five times before
moving to Delhi, accusing him, his wife Pratibha Singh and a
former bureaucrat late Mohinder Lal of indulging in corrupt
practises.
On the basis of the CD and after Chandigarh forensic
laboratory confirmed the voice of Singh in the CD, the state
vigilance and anti-corruption bureau had registered a case
against Singh earlier this year.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 20:38