Journalism of Courage
IN AN indirect dig at his bete noire, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that those who do not have faith in CBI’s investigation in the over Rs 1,000-crore Srijan scam can move the High Court or Supreme Court and seek court’s monitoring of the probe.
This comes a day after Lalu and his sons, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi and former minister Tej Pratap, launched a protest — “Srijan ke durjanon ki bisarjan yatra” — from Bhagalpur against Nitish and Deputy CM Sushil Modi, alleging that the scam spawned under their watch. The scam involves siphoning of government funds for over a decade by a Bhagalpur-based NGO, Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited.
In an interaction with the media here on Monday, Nitish said, “No one had any idea about Srijan scam. It was my government that detected it, brought it in public domain and immediately ordered probe by a special investigation team. The probe was later handed to the CBI.”
While not naming Lalu Prasad, Nitish said that whatever was said at the Bhagalpur meeting on Sunday was “beneath dignity”. The Chief Minister said: “The government did what it was expected to do. Several facts are emerging (and) no one would be spared. Those who have no trust in CBI probe can move high court or the Supreme Court. Those who have documents on Srijan can cooperate with the CBI”.
Tejashwi on Monday said, “The Nitish Kumar government created the Srijan scam. He has been wearing only the mask of a development man…. If he had been running such an efficient government, how did the scam take place right under his nose?”
