In the midst of widespread speculation as to whether Sheila Dikshit has been named in the FIR filed by the anti-corruption bureau in the Commonwealth Games scam, it is clear that the that the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government is readying itself to take direct aim at the former Delhi CM's role.
"There was clear collusion with vendors by officials and then chief minister/ministers to cause huge financial loss to the government," said the government in its directive to the anti-corruption bureau.
Arvind Kejriwal and Sheila Dikshit. Agencies
The anti-corruption probe ordered by the AAP government — after scrutiny of the Shunglu Committee report, the People Works Department's (PWD) reply to it and other available investigation reports — names very senior MCD and NDMC officials as well, said sources in the government.
The CBI had, earlier this year, closed 11 of its 12 preliminary inquiries into the CWG scam for lack of substantial evidence. Now, with the new FIR, the bureau has reopened the inquiry by focusing on alleged frauds in the purchase of imported street lights that caused a loss of Rs 31 crore to the exchequer.
The AAP-led Delhi government in its statement has said that the project for modernisation of Delhi's street light system was conceived by the Sheila Dixit administration in June 2006, with plans to implement it across the city within two years.
Detailed lighting standards were prepared in November 2006 to be followed by all the departments concerned, including the PWD, NDMC and MCD. The project was executed across 800 km of Delhi roads at a tendered cost of Rs 286 crore.
The street light contract was given to a private company called Space Age Switches. The current Delhi government alleges that the contract was given away in an 'unusual' manner and then chief minister Sheila Dikshit's was involved in giving away the contract. A statement from the government says,"Unusual interest was displayed by the Hon'ble Chief Minister in this project. This is demonstrated by the fact that meetings were held at her residence, imported luminaries were approved by her and competition was restricted to only three parties at her instructions."
The move of initiating the probe comes soon after the Arvind Kejriwal-led government asked for the permission of President Pranab Mukherjee to file an FIR against Sheila Dikshit for her alleged role in a scam regarding the regularisation of Delhi's unauthorised colonies. At the time, the BJP opposition had accused AAP of going soft on Sheila Dikshit. "To file an FIR against a former CM, no presidents permission is needed," said Harsh Vardhan of the BJP.
The FIR on the CWG may just steal the thunder from the BJP if it mentions the former chief minister, as reports in The Hindu claim. (For the record, however, AAP minister Manish Sisodia insists that the probe is not targeting any one individual.) Whether Dikshit is named or not, the FIR has bought the AAP government some respite from BJP's allegations of collusion with the Congress party.
But opening a probe in itself is no guarantee of success, say some legal experts, who also point out that it is meaningless to file another FIR in a case already closed for lack of evidence.
"The CBI has already filed it closure reports and has given a few clean chits. Under the circumstances, there cannot be any probe into the matter," said a defence lawyer in condition of anonymity. "It's just a publicity stunt by the AAP that they are trying to implicate the same people against whom no evidence has been found during the agency investigation," he said.
But other legal practitioners claim that the new FIR may still be valid if it presents new evidence not considered by the CBI. "Now it depends on the judge. The judge can take cognisance of the FIR and order a probe again. But in this case the Delhi government has to convince the court that there is a new set of evidence," says a Supreme Court lawyer.
The possibility of uncovering new evidence, however, remains slim. "The cases had to be closed as there was not enough concrete evidence against the accused named in the previous FIRs. Despite repeated quizzing and a thorough investigation there was no substantial evidence that could nail the irregularities, hence the agency had to close the investigation," said a CBI source.
In other words, the AAP is once again on shaky legal ground, making it vulnerable to accusations of employing cheap publicity stunts.
"Why only the street light? There are several other allegations of corruption during the Commonwealth Games. Why is the government only pursuing one case out of so many?" asks BJP leader Harsh Vardhan, "The AAP government will once again deceive the people of Delhi by letting Sheila Dikshit off the hook."
The Delhi government, however, maintains that the FIR is just the first of many and that it will initiate probes into the other cases of corruption during the CWG. But much of the fate of those other inquiries will depend how successful and credible this first legal offensive will be.
No comments:
Post a Comment