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Chandra Shekhar, Deve Gowda owe govt millions!

The Union government said Thursday that appropriate legal action will be initiated against those former prime ministers who have not cleared their dues for using Indian Air Force aircraft for non-official purposes.

Additional Solicitor General S R Jaisinghani told the Delhi high court that no concession will be made, that the government will charge as per the norm.

He said the Congress has paid Rs 18.6 million to clear the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's dues, and sought time till March 31 to pay the bills, worth Rs 55.2 million, pending against P V Narasimha Rao.

In the previous hearing on December 15, 1999, Jaisinghani had said the government had set December 31 as the last date for recovering dues.

He asked a division bench comprising justices Arun Kumar and D K Jain to issue notices to Samajwadi Janata Party president Chandra Shekhar and Janata Dal (Secular) president H D Deve Gowda.

The judges, however, declined the request saying they would see what action the government can take in this matter.

The additional solicitor general produced an affidavit filed by Sundari Pujari, director of the air intelligence division, defence ministry, which said both these parties had raised certain objections. A sum of Rs 59.2 million is pending against Chandra Shekhar while Deve Gowda has to pay up Rs 2.6 million, according to a public interest litigation filed by Advocate B L Wadhera.

Jaisinghani said the SJP and the JD-S refuse to pay up and question the basis for making them responsible for the payment.

The PIL calls for action against the defence and finance ministries for failing to realise the outstanding amounts all these years.

A different bench of the court is hearing another PIL seeking the recovery of Rs 415.7 million from former defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for using defence aircraft for personal purposes and dubbing them as official.

UNI

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