NEW DELHI: The leader of the Opposition, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, last week sought to substantiate his charge that the Prime Minister, Mr.P.V. Narasimha Rao, had been paid Rs.3 crore in the hawala scam with details of prime accused S.K. Jain’s deposition to the CBI, in which he has said that he paid this amount to Mr. Rao in 1991.

The veteran BJP Leader emphasized that although he was leveling a specific charge at the Prime Minister, he was not demanding his resignation. “I Jeave the matier.to his conscience. Ho occupies the post of the highest execute of the land. The BJP president, Mr. L.K. Advani, has set an example. Let others and] include the Prime Minister in that emulate that example,” he said.

Mr, Vajpayee said that he expected the Supreme Court and the CBI to take note of the paper he had circulated last week and give an appropriate response, The BJP, on its part, ‘would continue its Legal and political battle on the issue. “Let the fight be taken to its logical end. There is no halfway house,” he asserted. “Those involved have to be identified and exemplary action has to be taken against them.”

Mocking the Congress spokesman’s. Defence of the Prime Minister as “Mr. Clean,” the BJP leader demanded that the progress report of the CBI’s investigation, which contains the full statement made by S.K_ Jain, he made public and all the facts of the hawala case be placed before the Supreme Court.

‘The paper released by Mr, Vajpayee contains explosive details, which Jain is supposed to have supplied to the CBI. Of his Meetings with the Prime Minister, shortly after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 199], The Statement, according to the BJP leader, ‘was recorded by the SP, CBI, SPE, and ACU (VI). On March 11. 1995.

Jain claims he was first taken to meet Mr, Rao at his Motilal Nehru Marg residence by Mr.R.K. Dhawan after the former became president of the Congress Party, “Shri R.K. Dhawan told me in the presence of Shri Narasimha Rao to give Rs. 50 lakhs for party funds, saying that! Would be compensated adequately somewhere else. Shri R.K. Dhawan, in the meantime, further told Shri Narasimha Rao that I would be giving Rs.5 lakhs for his (Shri Narasimha Rao’s) expenses and also on election etc. Jain’s statement reads.

The hawala accused goes on to say that since he had “the money flowing from the channels of Amir Bhai,” he had no difficulty in making these payments.

“After about two or three days, I paid Rs. 5 lakhs to Shri Narasimha Rao ji at his residence at Moti Lal Nehru, Marg. On or around 27th May, 1991, I also paid Rs.50 lakh to Shri R.K_ Dhawan for, ex.

Shri Narasimha Reo was in leave for UP. For electioneering,” Jain is allowed to have told the CBI.

 ‘The next meeting with the Prime Minister, according to Jain, was arranged by Mr. Satish Sharma and Chandraswami, He says he drove to Mr. Sharma’s farmhouse where the god man was waiting and the two of them drove in Chandraswami’s car to the Prime Minister’s residence on Race Course Road. “Shri Narasimha Rao ji talked to me separately and told me to pay Rs.3 crores for the party, of which I was supposed to pay Rs. 50 lakhs to Shri Satish Sharma, who at that time, was not in the Cabinet.

Article extracted from this publication >>  January 31, 1996