The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday charged Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav with being involved in forestalling a vigilance probe into a scam in the purchase and supply of blankets worth about Rs 40 crore for below poverty line families in Bihar in the winter of 2002-2003.

Speaking to reporters in Patna, BJP national vice-president Sushil Kumar Modi said a senior IAS officer and managing director of the Bihar State Financial Corporation, Anita Paul, in her report to the secretary, industry department on October 1, 2003 had recommended an inquiry by the state vigilance bureau into the irregularities in the purchase and supply of the blankets in December 2002.

Also see: Charges against Lalu in yet another fodder scam case

"But the state government shelved Paul's report and preferred to sit idle instead of processing the files for a vigilance probe," he said.

Modi alleged that several RJD leaders in collusion with district magistrates had managed to corner orders for supply of the blankets and "the power-that-be at that time provided patronage to them in the loot of public money."

"Lalu's role in the scam should also be probed thoroughly," the BJP leader demanded.

Modi said the then Patna district magistrate Dipak Prasad awarded a contract for purchase and supply of blankets to the Bihar State Export Corporation on February 5, 2002 though the corporation did not manufacture blankets.

He said the corporation subsequently appointed a Panipat-based company, M Vinay Garg, for supplying the blankets.

The firm, however, declined the contract and suggested four other names -- Mayur Enterprises, Tirupati Sales Corporation, Amarnath Trading Company and Sakambar Udyog.
 
All four firms were then assigned to supply 1,13,020 blankets in Patna district without issuing any tenders, Modi said.