Shagun rip-off: Cong too not above board,claims CPI

The role of the Congress,which has been pressing for a CBI probe into the embezzlement of grants in Attari,represented by SAD leader Gulzar Singh Ranike,may also come under scanner for sanctioning money to “fraudulent beneficiaries” under a welfare scheme in 2006 when it was in power. The CPI district council in Amritsar on Tuesday alleged that it had conducted a probe and found that out of nearly 200 shagun scheme beneficiaries in Fatahpur village between 2006 to 2009,85 were not the residents of the village.

CPI district secretary Balwinder Singh Dudhala said: “While in majority of the cases,the embezzlement took place during Akali rule,but there are 25 to 30 cases where money under the shagun scheme was sanctioned in 2006 during the Congress rule. The money for the said cases was disbursed during the Akali rule as the model code of conduct came into place in the run-up to 2007 polls. The probe also indicated that some cheques were disbursed while the code of conduct was in force.”

Earlier in the day,the CPI submitted a list of the nearly 200 beneficiaries to National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes vice-chairman and Congress leader Raj Kumar Verka.

Following this,Verka demanded an inquiry by the state Crime Branch into the alleged scam. Asked about money being sanctioned under the scheme during the Congress rule,Verka said: “I am not blaming any particular party or the government. Crime is crime irrespective of the fact that it was in 2006 or 2012. The government may order a probe for the last 10 years and the responsibility of whosoever found guilty should be fixed.”