Bansal not booked to protect PM: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday attacked the CBI for not chargesheeting former Railway Minister P K Bansal in the cash-for-appointment scam, which they allege was done to protect Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"The CBI has given a clean chit to former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. New facts about all that is behind this are coming to light which should be made public. This clean chit
establishes that the CBI has now become a tool in the hands of the government. The CBI is trying to protect the PMO and the PM," BJP spokesperson Vijay Sonkar Shastri told reporters.

The BJP drew a similarity between coalgate and railgate and said that the bribe offered and accepted by Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla. For giving more lucrative post to accused Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar also leads to the PMO.

“The clean chit to Bansal is an attempt to keep under wraps the role of the PMO in the appointment of the Railway Board member (Mahesh Kumar)," Shastri said.

The spokesperson was of the view that since the Railway Board member's post is equivalent to that of a Joint Secretary, Kumar’s  appointment go ahead has to come from the department of personnel which falls under the PMO.  For this reason, Bansal who was forced to resign after the CBI picked up his relative,  was not named in the chargesheet for the fear of the trail leading to the PMO, he said.

"We demand that the CBI name Pawan Bansal as an accused in the chargesheet. Only then the real truth will come out. This is a very serious matter. This case strengthens the BJP's demand that the prime minister should resign," spokesperson Shastri said.