Lucknow:
24 hours after he quit Mayawati's party to join the BJP, Babu Singh Kushwaha is being raided by the CBI, in what's being seen as a direct consequence of his new political affiliation. An FIR has also been filed against him for his alleged role in the misdirection of thousands of crores that were to be used for medi-care in rural areas. The Congress has struck with brutal force, taunting the BJP for allowing into its fold a man stained by scandal. Referring to senior BJP leader LK Advani's recent nationwide tour against corruption, the Congress said the BJP stands exposed.
"L K Advani in his rath yatra was apparently looking for these sort of people. We congratulate him for finding suitable candidates in UP," was the acerbic comment from Rashid Alvi, the Congress spokesperson.
The BJP on the other hand has accused the Congress of misusing the CBI against its newest member. The party also said that it will not give Mr Kushwaha a ticket for the upcoming elections. His considerable clout among the OBC voters in and around Banda, where he is from, may have provoked the BJP's invitation. But sources admit his entry has stirred anger and resentment in the UP branch of the BJP.
Mr Kushwaha was, till April 2011, a senior minister in Mayawati's government known for his proximity to the Chief Minister. But on his watch, two senior doctors attached to his department were murdered; another died in prison. And it was no longer feasible for him to remain in power as Family Welfare Minister. He resigned accepting moral responsibility. He was sacked from the BSP for indiscipline and anti-party activities in November last year.
Mr Kushwaha's ministry seemed to have functioned as a conglomerate of corruption. It had access to Rs 3500 crore a year - money sent by the Centre as part of the National Health Rural Mission which is meant to provide better medical services for villages. Much of the money was squandered by bureaucrats and other officers who handed inflated contracts to suppliers of medicines and equipment. One of those contractors- the Jain Brothers of Moradabad - have also been raided today.
The CBI spent the morning at Mr Kushwaha's home at Shalimar Royal Apartments in Lucknow - one of the more-than-50 places raided today in UP, Delhi and Haryana. The CBI is investigating both the financial swindle and the deaths of the three doctors who were a part of his ministry. In October 2010, Dr Vinod Arya, the Chief Medical Officer of the Family Welfare Department was killed. Six months later, the man who replaced him, Dr BP Singh, was murdered.
In June 2011, a man who had worked for them and had been arrested for their deaths, Yogendra Singh Sachan was found dead at a Lucknow jail. The police alleged that Dr Sachan was worried that both his bosses were about to expose the financial crimes he had reportedly helped construct.