NEW DELHI, India: A demoralized ruling party at the Centre fielded a lower functionary, Mr. Kalpnath Rai, Rajya Sabha MR, to level, charges of corruption against Mr. V.P. Singh and ‘press for expulsions of five dissident’ Congress (1) MPs who have demanded resignation of the Prime Minister.

Mr, Rai told newsmen at a press conference: here that he and 50 other party MPs had submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, asking him, to institute an inquiry against Mr. V.P, Singh for alleged misuse, of office for furthering his political ambition.

‘According to Mr. Rai, the Prime Minister has forwarded the memorandum against Mr. V.P. Singh: to the Home Ministry: to examine file charges.

“In the memorandum, signed by the MPs in the letterhead of Mr. Kalpnath Rai, the MPs said as finance minister, Mr. V.P. Singh started implementing the government’s policy “in a perverted manner’. He was guilty of “corruption, nepotism and misuse of power” both when he was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and as finance minister at the Centre, Mr. Rai, said. But he was notable to substantiate the charge before the inquisitive newsmen.

While conceding that he was airing his personal views and not necessarily that of his party, Mr.

Rai said he was for immediate expulsion of the five Congress (I) MPs for demanding resignation of the Prime Minister. The MPs are Mr. Satya Pal Malik, Mr. Ram Dhan, Mr, Malvendra Singh, Mr. Ram Poojan Patel and Mr. Raj Kumar Rai. These MPs have also criticized the action taken by the party against Mr.V.P. Singh.

UNI reports: Mr. Kalpnath Rai said ‘the Prime Minister had also assured the necessary action if required would be taken by the Home Ministry after the charges against Mr. Singh had been examined.

Mr. N.C. Chaturvedi and Dr. Ratnakar Pandey were the other members of the three member delegation which submitted the memorandum to the Prime Minister.

Mr. Rai said “in making charges of corruption, nepotism and misuse of power”, the signatories to the memorandum demanded a commission of inquiry under Commission of Inquiries Act against Mr. V.P. Singh.

Mr. Rai accused Mr. Singh of “having been plotting and still plotting to oust Mr. Gandhi at the behest of forces of destabilization within and outside the country”.

Mr. Singh was trying to divide and disrupt the party since the destabilizers felt that only by weakening the Congress (I) could they destroy democracy in India, he said. Mr. Rai said that he had got full details of the conspiracy.

The memorandum alleged that as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Singh had “brazenly” utilized his powers to aggrandize his own family fortunes.

He was also responsible for the killing of 5,000 innocent people in his “reckless antidacoity drive” as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the memorandum alleged.

The memorandum also charged Mr. Singh with promoting the career of his son as finance minister. This included “securing for his son an executive job in the city bank of New York and purchase of shares of the rupees by his son and daughter-in-law.”

“Through his son, Mr. V.P. Singh has also accumulated wealth and is said to have foreign accounts in London and the United States,” the memorandum alleged.

Article extracted from this publication >>  August 28, 1987