Cong seeks SC-monitored probe into Bihar NGO scam

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the alleged multi-crore NGO fraud in Bihar, and asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Modi to step down.

The opposition party also demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to come clear if any union minister was allegedly involved in the scam.

The Congress though chose to not name the any minister.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari also demanded that it should be probed if the Srijan and Madhya Pradesh's Vyapam scams are "connected in any manner", given that the principal accused in both the cases were allegedly killed.

A key arrested accused in the alleged NGO fraud, Mahesh Mandal, died earlier this month of illness, the Bihar police had said on August 21.

The Congress and also the RJD have raised questions over the circumstances in which Mandal died.

According to the Congress, Srijan scam is about transfer of government funds to an NGO Srijan Mahila Sahyog Samiti in Bihar's Bhagalpur district. The NGO used to earn a high rate of interest on the government funds while keeping the principal amount intact. It is estimated to be well over 1000 crore, it alleged.

Kumar had on August 17 recommended a CBI probe into alleged swindling of government money by the NGO. He has also asserted that the "culprits will be traced even from 'patal' (beneath the earth)" and nobody will be spared.

"Nitish Kumar has been the chief minister during the period when the scam occurred and Sushil Modi was his finance minister for a long time during the span concerned.

"Their involvement in the scam cannot be ruled out. To ensure a fair probe, it is required they resign from their respective posts immediately," Tewari told reporters here.

Another Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar, who accompanied Tewari during the briefing, said the scam would not have occurred without orders from Kumar and his deputy.

Tewari, however, said such a probe will be an "eyewash" as there cannot be a fair investigation by the "communal bureau of investigation", which the government allegedly uses to harass its political opponents and give clean cheat to its allies.

"This is an extremely serious issue and we demand the court takes suo moto cognisance of the Vyapam deaths, Srijan deaths, the deaths which have occurred in various such cases and order a court-monitored investigation," he said.

Patna: An alleged scam, involving a Bhagalpur-based NGO, rocked both the state Assembly and the Legislative Council in Bihar for the second consecutive day on Wednesday with opposition Congress and RJD demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.

As soon as the Assembly met for the day, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav drew the attention of Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary to the adjournment notice given by the RJD MLAs over the "scam" and urged him to suspend the Question Hour and take up the issue. He demanded the resignation of Kumar and Modi over the "scam" and was frequently heard using the expression, "khajana chor" (treasury thief), to describe the chief minister and the deputy chief minister.