New Delhi: A day after his nephew was arrested in a bribery scandal, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday and has reportedly offered to resign, sources said.
The offer is expected to be discussed at the Congress’ core group meeting, sources said, adding that the PM and Congress president Sonia Gandhi will then take a final call on it.
Bansal’s nephew, Vijay Singla, was arrested by the CBI on Friday for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 90 lakh from a Railway Board member who reportedly wanted his help to secure a “more lucrative” position.
Before meeting the PM in the afternoon, Bansal had said in a statement that he “had no knowledge or clue about the matter” and that there was “no business relationship” between him and his nephew.
But opposition parties have refused to accept this as a defence. Calling the UPA “a government of dealers and brokers”, the BJP has demanded that Bansal be sacked and also prosecuted by the CBI for allegedly misusing his position.
The CPM called UPA a “storehouse of scams.” BJP workers also held protests outside Mr Bansal’s residence in Chandigarh.
UPA ally Samajawadi Party said corrupt leaders should be suspended. “The Prime Minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi need to realise that it is the Railway Minister’s nephew who has been arrested with Rs 90 lakh. Bansal should resign on moral grounds. Leaders, who are corrupt should be suspended,” said SP national general secretary Ram Asrey Kushwaha
Vijay Singla, a businessman from Chandigarh, was arrested for allegedly accepting cash from a man who was the middleman for Mahesh Kumar, who was arrested in Mumbai.
The arrests followed a tip-off after which the CBI tracked Kumar’s movements and phone calls.
Kumar was recently promoted to the Railway Board, the top governing body of the Railways which handles massive contracts. But sources say he allegedly wanted a better post within the board, which has seven members who are considered equivalent to a Secretary in the Government of India.
According to sources, Singla had initially demanded Rs. 10 crore from Mr Kumar, but later agreed to help him for Rs. 2 crore. The CBI says it arrested him while he was accepting the partial payment of Rs. 90 lakh. Bansal was made Railways Minister a few months ago after Mamata Banerjee pulled her Trinamool Congress out of the ruling coalition. Trinamool leader Derk O’brien has termed the arrest “shameful for the Congress.” (Agencies)
