CBI should probe companies owned by Maya's brother: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata party on Monday demanded a thorough probe into alleged dubious financial transactions by companies allegedly owned by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's brother and questioned the government's intentions on the issue in view of the support extended to it by her party.

"The BJP demands that action be taken against companies owned by Mayawati's brother," BJP Spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said in the wake of allegations of questionable financial transaction worth crores of rupees against companies allegedly owned by Mayawati's brother Anand Kumar.

"It was suggested that his relationship with the chief minister was being unfairly and illegally exploited," said Sitharaman.

"We reiterate that it is a major case of corruption which we see here that the brother of Mayawati running apparently 76-odd companies, most of which have no activities to claim," she alleged.

She claimed that the central probe agencies were not initiating action against Mayawati's brother as the BSP has supported the present United Progressive Alliance government and asked, "Is there something that is stopping the Congress government from taking action against an alliance partner's chief's brother?"

Demanding an answer from the government on the issue, she sought to know if Income Tax notices will be served on these companies and if investigations by Enforcement Directorate be conducted to explain the cash transactions and ascertain what services were provided by them for such huge payments.

"Will the finance ministry make sure that the department of I-T serves notices against these companies or is the alliance being kept alive," said Sitharaman. Sitharaman accused the government of "misusing" the Central Bureau of Investigation and other agencies against its political opponents and said that the BSP is a strong ally of the Congress-led UPA government.

"We know the position of BSP when the debate on FDI in multi-brand retail took place.... The methodology adopted to salvage this government is more than seen by the people of

India. But will the government now tell us as to why action is not seen in getting the answer from these companies. Will the corporate affairs ministry search and seal documents of these companies," she said.

Sitharaman said Kumar's relationship with the chief minister was being ‘unfairly and illegally exploited’, saying, "A Vadra-style copy book practice of receiving advances for unspecified services from third parties is followed by a loss making company owned by Kumar."

She also claimed that these allegations were levelled by the BJP in 2011 when a dossier was also handed over to the government during the Uttar pradesh assembly polls but no action has so far been taken.

She, however, parried questions on why BJP raised the issue now when I-T authorities were initiating searches and action against companies owned by its former President

Nitin Gadkari's Purti group and merely said there is no link between the two.