New Delhi:
In trouble that the Congress-led UPA government can ill-afford, a Himachal Pradesh court has ordered the framing of charges of conspiracy and corruption against Union Minister Virbhadra Singh in a 23-year-old case.
The special court has held that there is sufficient evidence against Mr Singh, who is the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and his wife, Pratibha Singh, in a case which dates back to 1989, when he was the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. The minister has been accused of misusing his official position and of criminal misconduct then, based on an audio CD which purportedly contains a conversation between a voice that is allegedly that of Mr Singh talking to an IAS officer and some industrialists about investment in the state. It also purportedly has Mrs Singh's voice on it.
The CD was released by a political rival, Vijai Singh Mankotia, in 2007 and Mr and Mrs Singh were booked by the state vigilance department under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2009. The prosecution filed a chargesheet against the couple in October 2010.
Virbhadra Singh says the accusations are false and concocted by the BJP to embarrass the Congress. He had also said earlier this month that if charges were framed against him he would resign. "This is a concocted case, based on concocted and fabricated evidence. The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) has never authenticated that CD. They have not compared my voice...I don't care about my office at all. I don't want to embarrass my party and my Prime Minister. As and when the occasion arises I will certainly take a proper step," he had said.
The BJP is holding the minister to that promise. The party's Kalraj Mishra said today, "He had said if the court proves him guilty, he'll quit politics. The court has proved him guilty and said the voice in the CD was his. The court added that he should face trial. So it is clear that Virbhadra Pratap Singh is the accused. So now, either he should quit or the UPA government should force him out.
Mr Singh has filed a petition in the High Court seeking that either the corruption case be transferred to the CBI or that the complaint against him and his wife be quashed. Himachal Pradesh has a BJP government right now. The state is headed for assembly elections later this year and Mr Singh, who has been chief minister five times, is arguably the Congress' most important leader in Himachal Pradesh.
While delivering today's verdict, the trial court adjourned the case pending the Himachal Pradesh High Court's decision. It will now hear case after a go-ahead from the High Court. In January, the High Court observed that the trial court was free to examine the accused.