Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Spelling more trouble for Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, UP Health and Family Welfare Minister Ahmed Hassan on Monday alleged that the former chief minister is also involved in the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission scam.
Speaking to reporters, Hassam said, “State’s former chief minister Mayawati’s role should also be looked into the multi-crore NRHM scam. She once retained the health and family welfare department, so she should also be brought under the purview of current investigations into the scam.”
The UP health Minister further said, “It is up to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the case, to decide what to do and its future course of action in the scam, which got murkier after the mysterious deaths of three Chief Medical Officers.”
Separately, in a veiled attack to Mayawati, state’s Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also said, “The probe agency is interrogating all those who are suspected to be involved in the case and the truth will come out soon.”
The development comes three days after a senior IAS officer Pradeep Shukla was arrested by CBI for alleged bungling in upgradation of 89 district hospitals under National Rural Health Mission programme causing a loss of nearly Rs 22.5 crore to the exchequer.
Evading questioning for long after former UP Family Welfare Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha's arrest, the 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre was detained while on his way to the airport.
55-year-old Shukla was named in the first case registered in NRHM scam in which it was alleged that officials of Uttar Pradesh Health Department entered into criminal conspiracy with officers of UP Processing and Construction Cooperative Federation Ltd. (PACCFED) and Directors of three private firms based at Moradabad and Gajraula (all of UP).
First Published: Monday, May 14, 2012, 12:53