ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

PMO denies Jaya's charges of corruption

The Prime Minister's Office has dismissed as ''unfortunate and baseless,'' charges of corruption flung at the government by its ally, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Sources in the PMO said Friday's administrative changes affected by the government were a normal exercise and there was no intention to make anybody a ''scapegoat or to appease any quarter.''

''There was absolutely no cover-up behind the routine exercise,'' the PMO sources emphasised.

On Sunday morning AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha alleged in a statement that ''persons close the prime minister" had been paid "hefty bribes,'' to get Enforcement Directorate chief M K Bezbaruah transferred.

Jayalalitha demanded Bezbaruah's reinstatement and cancellation of all other transfers. Bezbaruah, an IAS officer of the Delhi cadres, has been transferred to the Delhi government as transport commissioner.

She charged that there was a move to make her the scapegoat for the transfers and appease certain quarters which were anxious to cover up the ''real culprits behind the whole farcical exercise.''

She said she had written to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee seeking the cancellation of the transfers as they were effected without consulting AIADMK minister K R Janarthanan who is in charge of personnel, revenue and banking.

Reiterating that there was no connection between her and the transfer of 15 officials, including Finance Secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Revenue Secretary N K Singh, Jayalalitha said her party's minister was not consulted on any of the transfers nor had he given his consent to the move.

"I have no objection whatsover to the re-instatement of any of the other officials now transferred," she said in her letter to the prime minister.

She alleged that a well known newspaper baron who has been facing several FERA cases was behind Bezbaruah's transfer. This media mogul, she alleged, had paid hefty bribes to persons very close to the prime minister to get the ED director transferred.

"They cleverly exploited the present situation to their advantage by making it appear that I had demanded Mr Bezbaruah's transfer and achieved their objective by pinning the blame on me," she charged.

Jayalalitha said she did not not broach any subject other than the Cauvery water issue in her discussion on Friday with Defence Minister George Fernandes.

On Sunday Fernandes asserted that Bezbaruah's transfer did not figure during his talks with Jayalalitha nor had he taken any package from the prime minister to Madras on August 12 and 14.

''As far as I am aware this was part of a reshuffle in which several secretaries figured. For those with short memories I may remind that for several months now, a newspaper chain proprietor has used whole pages of his newspaper to campaign against this upright officer (Bezbaruah)'', Fernandes said in a statement.

"I repudiate the suggestions of the media that the transfers of the officers have been done under any pressure from any quarter,'' the defence minister said.

Fernandes lashed out at the media, saying the ''distortions and speculations'' of his two visits to Madras ''have thrown to winds all norms of journalistic ethics.'' He said during his three discussions with Jayalalitha he had not been kept waiting outside her door as reported by some newspapers. ''Interpreting a five-minute delay in completing an ongoing meeting as an exercise to humiliate those who are slotted for the next meeting exhibits malice on the part of the reporter,'' he added.

The minister denied that he had used a special defence aircraft to return to Delhi from Madras on August 12 as reported by one newspaper. ''This is a lie. I flew back on a regular commercial flight. In fact, I have never used a special aircraft for any of my visits to Madras and back,'' Fernandes said.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report