Remove Maran from Cabinet, says JD(U)

Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav on Saturday demanded the immediate removal of Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran from the Union Cabinet in the wake of his alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam.

“The dirty deal is crystal clear. The prime minister should not waste any time in removing him from the government,” said Yadav.

“It has been alleged that Maran had forced Aircel owners to sell its stakes to a foreign company. After the change in ownership, the spectrum and licences were given to the present owners of Aircel. In return, the Sun TV group got a kickback of Rs 600 crore,” said Yadav while talking to media persons.

He demanded confiscation of unclaimed money lying in public and private sector banks of the country. He also gave a list of bank, including State Bank of India and some of its subsidiaries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, where unclaimed amounts were lying.

Yadav criticised government’s handling of the protests against corruption and said the police crackdown on Ramlila ground is a black spot. He opposed the ban on protests at Jantar Mantar.

“The imposition of Section 144 in Delhi and preventing protest shows the Centre intends to crush such protest with brute force. It reminds us of emergency, when democratic rights of the people were abolished,” Yadav said.

Yadav said that movements led by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have contributed in sensitising the people to the issue of corruption and black money. However, he made it clear that his party would express its opinion on the Lokpal bill when its draft tabled in Parliament.