Cong chargesheet on graft next month: Bali

In the chargesheet,the Congress proposes to corner Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his ministers,besides some government servants on 12 points as per material available with the committee. Misuse of the government helicopter and awarding of a contract to a firm at exorbitant rates causing a huge loss to the public exchequer are new additions to the list.

Though Bali declines to make the charges public before examining them legally,he says corruption in the BJP government will become the Congress’s biggest poll plank in the 2012 elections. Already newly formed BJP breakaway group — Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) headed by Maheshwar Singh — has attacked the state government on corruption.

“I have asked \MP Rajan Sushant to forward documents in his possession to the committee as he had used RTI to dig out a series of irregularities,land purchases by politicians and their family members and their disproportionate assets,” said the former minister.

Bali has written letters to all the District Congress Committees,sitting and former MLAs,MPs including two Union ministers,PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur and CLP leader Vidya Stokes to provide him documents,if any,relating to corruption,land deals and other irregularities in the BJP government.

Asked if Virbhadra Singh,who was in the state last week and spoke about illegal land deals and multi-crore pulses scam,had sent him the documents,he said “I am expecting the material to reach me shortly”.

The chargesheet will zero in on at least two Cabinet ministers,one of them already under scanner from within the BJP and the party’s breakaway group.

Besides private universities,the Congress has collected evidence on leasing out of prime land at Sadhupul (Solan) to Baba Ramdev’s trust in the name of his close aide Balkrishan. “Here,we suspect a minister having business interests,” Bali alleged.

Privatisation of hydel projects and undue concessions given to some companies,industrial units and role of some BJP leaders in doling out favours to cement companies may also get a mention in the chargesheet. “The Congress proposes to seek a CBI probe into the corruption allegations by submitting the document to the President,” said PCC president Kaul Singh Thakur.