Tainted Ministers -- NDA Memorandum to President on July 25, 2004

Respected Rashtrapatiji,

When we members of the National Democratic Alliance met you in a delegation on June 3, 2004, little did we imagine that almost two months later we would have to impose on your valuable time yet again, that too on the same subject. However, left with no other option, we are compelled to urge you once more to intervene with the Prime Minister over the continuance of criminals, economic offenders and others with dubious antecedents in the Union Council of Ministers.

Far from acknowledging the disastrous impact their continuation as Ministers is having on the nation's moral and ethical fabric, the Government of Shri Mamnohan Singh continues to brazen out the rising demand for their removal from office. Worse, the manner in which the ruling coalition behaved during the just concluded first half of the Budget Session has led us to conclude that Shri Manmohan Singh's Government does not regard itself as accountable even to the repository of the nation's sovereign authority, namely, the Parliament.

It is shocking that in the case of Shri Shibu Soren, the Prime Minister waited unconscionably long even after the whole country witnessed the shameful spectacle of a warrant of arrest being pasted on the official residence of a minister of the Union Cabinet declared as absconder, before politely asking him to resign. When Shri Mamnohan Singh should have immediately recommended to you that Shri Soren be dismissed forthwith, the Prime Minister appeared determined to save a history sheeter's "honour".

Respected Rashtrapatiji, we are here to reflect the nation's outrage. The entire country looks upon you as the custodian of its most sacred testament the Constitution and., therefore, the final court of appeal. We have come to seek justice for India, which is being systematically brutalized by an insensitive regime that is busy promoting criminals to public office instead of putting them behind bars.

SHIBU SOREN IS THE FIRST CABINET MINISTER IN 56 YEARS TO GO UNDERGROUND TO EVADE AN ARREST WARRANT DESPITE BEING AN ACCUSED IN CASES OF MURDER:

1. Shibu Soren's role in inciting a mob to kill residents of Chirrudih village under PS Jamtara in undivided Bihar on January 23, 1975 is well documented. Shibu Soren was named as the chief instigator of the massacre by one Lakhender Soren in his dying declaration. A warrant was issued, but never executed. A fresh warrant has been issued now, leading to the Minister's decamping. A copy of the warrant has been pasted on the walls of his official residence.

2. What makes Shibu Soren's role in the Chirrudih massacre particularly galling is that of the 11 persons brutally killed, nine were members of the minority community.

3. It has now been revealed that Shri Shibu Soren is an accused in yet another murder case dating back to 1974. According to an FIR lodged in Pirtad thana of Giridih district, he was among the four persons who assaulted and beat to death one Babu Rai following a petty quarrel over the alleged theft of a goat.

4. Shri Shibu Soren is also named as an accused in the case of the abduction and murder of his own secretary, Shashi Nath Jha, in 1994. Only last week, the CBI produced a key witness, Sub Inspector VK Pandey in a Delhi court in connection with the ongoing legal proceedings.

LALU PRASAD YADAV IS CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION, MISAPPROPRIATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS, PROTECTION OF CRIMINALS AND CORRUPT ASSOCIATES:

1. Lalu Prasad Yadav's deep involvement in and pecuiary benefit from the multibillion Bihar fodder scam has been a subject of CBI investigation since 1996.

2. He has served relatively long detentions in jail apart from being arrested on several other occasions. Currently he is on bail.

3. He was forced to step down as Chief Minister of Bihar on the eve of his first arrest. He is since running the State by proxy.

4. In 1997, Deepak Chandak, one of the biggest suppliers of fodder in Bihar deposed before a Patna magistrate under section 164 that he paid a sum of Rs 50 crore to SB Sinha, then Regional Director, Animal Husbandry Department through Dr RK Rana who is now a Rashtriya Janata Dal MP from Khagaria. Chandak said the money was meant for Shri Lalu Prasad.

5. In a subsequent confession, SB Sinha himself and Tripurary Prasad Sinha, another big fodder supplier, told CBI that they had paid money to Shri Lalu Prasad.

6. Between 1990 and 1996, withdrawals from Bihar's Animal Husbandry Department rose from a normal Rs 8.65 crore per annum. to a staggering Rs 170 crore in a year. Singnificantly, Shri Lalu Prasad held the State's finance portfolio in addition to being the Chief Minister, for most of this period.

7. CBI filed a chargesheet against Shri Lalu Prasad for scuttling the probe against Bihar's fodder mafia, misusing his position as Chief Minister.

8. Under Shri Lalu Prasad's tenure, Bihar has witnessed the Rs 600 crore bitumen scam, Rs 400 crore land scam, the Rs 300 crore tree cutting scam, apart from massive irregularities in the purchase of medicines for Government hospitals. Shri Lalu Yadav's name has cropped up in each of these corruption cases.

9. In the fooder scam alone, six cases, mostly of fraudulent withdrawal of funds, have been registered against Shri Lalu Yadav in various places in what is now Jharkhand State.

10. A case of assets disproportionate to known sources of income is continuing against Shri Lalu Yadav and the final arguments are expected to commence shortly.

SHRI MAA FATIMI IS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH CRIME SYNDICATES:

1. Shri Fatimi has a close nexus with a dreaded kidnapper/extortionist syndicate that kidnapped and later reportedly freed a leading Gujarat industrialist, Mr Gautam Adani, after extorting US $ 1.5 million in Hong Kong.

2. Shri Fatimi gifted a fax machine to one Atiqur Rahman, purportedly a journalist of Darbhanga, who masterminded one of the most sensational kidnappings in Bihar in the 1990s (Amarender Singh case). During interrogation, did Rahman confess receiving this fax machine from Shri Fatimi?

3. Despite damning reports regarding the links of Shri Fatimi with high profile international criminals Irfan Goga (since killed), Fazlur Rahman, and Babloo Srivastava (who, in turn, are linked to the notorious Dawood Ibrahim), why was Fatimi never arrested or even interrogated, contrary to police recommendations'?

4. The then (1998) DSP of Darbhanga, Rama Shankar Rai, had stated in his report on the sensational Amarender Singh kidnapping case (No. 133/98) in which Rs 2 crore was extorted from this hapless businessman: "To conclude from the study of' facts and details, it is clear that the criminals had links with Mr Fatimi and looking at their status, it was quite possible they would have succeeded in killing the SP." The SP in question was Ms Shobha Ahotkar who had initiated investigations against Fatimi and recommended his interrogation. Consequently, she received death threats and was eventually transferred out of Darbhanga.

5. Shri Fatimi can, therefore, claim, he has no criminal cases against him. If all those who wanted to interrogate him were systematically removed by him using his clout, isn't it natural that no case would be registered?

6. Can Shri Fatimi deny that Fazlu gang members spoke to him on his telephone (No 24120) on October 10 11, 1998 at least on six occasions for durations ranging from 6 seconds to 6.15 minutes?

7. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kutch, had sent a report to the Bihar Police stating that Fatimi's official phone to establish contact with Adani's kidnappers. But the Bihar Police did not follow up the leads.

8. A warrant of arrest was issued against Fatimi in 1998 and he was sufficiently scared not to enter Darbhanga for four months. He returned only after getting the daredevil SP, Ms Ahotkar, removed from there. The warrant stands, but remains to be executed.

9. None other than Siwan MP Mohd Sahabuddin is named as Accused No 3' in the Gautam Adani kidnapping case, confirming the close political and criminal linkages between Fatimi and well established crime syndicates of Bihar.

SHRI MOHD TASLIMUDDIN, APART FROM HIS VIOLENT AND CRIMINAL RECORD THAT COMPELLED HIM TO QUIT THE DEVE GOWDA MINISTRY, HAS SUPPRESSED SEVERAL CASES AGAINST HIM IN HIS AFFIDAVIT WHILE , FILING NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2004 ELECTIONS.

1. Charged with rioting, theft and manhandling, Shri Taslimuddin, was forced to resign from the Deve Gowda Ministry.

2. According to Case No 133/82 of 1982 he is also implicated in the murder of Ajit Sarkar, popular CPI(M) MLA. His "resignation" from the Deve Gowda Ministry was a result of the CPI(M)'s annoyance, among other things.

3. Shri Sharad Pawar, was sufficiently angered by his appointment as MoS in the Agriculture Ministry to demand his immediate redeployment.

4. Shri Taslimuddin has suppressed six criminal cases against him in the affidavit filed to the Election Commission along with his nomination papers.

5. In his affidavit, the nine cases he has admitted being registered against him are heinous enough. One is "attempt to commit murder and snatching valuables by wrongful confinement". Another involves "attempt to commit murder and assault public servant". A third is "commit cheating and possessing forged documents". The fourth is with regard to constituting an unlawful assembly to "commit theft, assault, mischief and extortion".

6. The six cases he has suppressed in the affidavit include: (a) Rioting, being armed with deadly weapons, kidnapping, attempt to murder and criminal intimidation (Case of April 4, 1996, Araria PS); (b) murder, rioting, possession of deadly arms, (Araria, GR/ 163 9/96); (c) attempt to murder; (d) cheating, forgery of valuable securities and criminal conspiracy. The remaining cases are comparatively less startling, but serious enough.

JAIPRAKASH YADAV HAS AIDED AND ABETTED BIHAR'S EDUCATION MAFIA:

1. When he was Minister of Minor Irrigation in Bihar's Rabri Devi Government, Shri Jaiprakash Yadav was named as accused by the State's Vigilance Department under several provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

2. Shri Yadav is widely known to be a patron of Bihar's education mafia. When he was Minister of Secondary Education he is alleged to have entered into a conspiracy to give permission to set up a college in Katihar in complete violation of the rules. This college was later said to have amassed a fortune by giving out fake degrees of B Ed. (Bachelor of Education) to hundreds of people who paid extravagant sums to fraudulently acquire this "qualification".

PREM CHAND GUPTA IS A POACHER TURNED GAMEKEEPER: ACCUSED OF FERA VIOLATION, HE IS NOW MINISTER OF COMPANY AFFAIRS AND WILL DEAL WITH HIS OWN CASES:

1. A foreign exchange violation amounting to a whopping US $ 4.725 million has been detected against him,

2. The Enforcement Directorate has examined his role as a conduit in the fodder scam case wherein he was said to have been paid Rs 1 crore by one of the accused in a deposition before CBI.

3. A penalty of Rs 10 crore was imposed on Shri Gupta by the Enforcement Directorate. This followed the discovery of irregularities in his accounts and unexplained wealth in the course of raids on six business and residential premises of Shri Gupta. The Directorate has examined records in the multi crore fodder and bitumen scams in which Shri Gupta's role is known to be questionable. The cases are continuing since he has gone in appeal.

4. Should this man, under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, be allowed to play accused and judge at the same time? But as Minister of State for Company Affairs he will effectively be sitting in judgement on his own cases. Is this not unprecedented in the annals of Indian politics and jurisprudence.