Gujral refuses to meet Kidwai

MARATHON MAN: Prime Minister I K Gujral begins his morning walk alone. NEW DELHI, May 8: Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral turned down Bi...

MARATHON MAN: Prime Minister I K Gujral begins his morning walk alone.

NEW DELHI, May 8: Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral turned down Bihar Governor A R Kidwai’s request for an audience because he felt that such a meeting at this juncture would have been misinterpreted in the context of the ongoing investigations into the fodder scam.

Responding to a pointed question i during zero hour in the Rajya Sabha today, Gujral said that he had no interaction with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the ongoing probe into various scams during his two weeks in office. He assured the House that his Government would remain transparent in these matters.

“I have not, not, met any CBI official in connection with investigations into the scams. I have not even asked for any paper on this subject (fodder scam) or any of the cases being handled by the CBI. During the meeting I had with the CBI director recently, we confined our discussion only to the vacancies in the organisation,” he said.

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Reiterating that he wanted to steer clear of the controversy regarding the investigations into the fodder scam, the Prime Minister said he had declined an interview to the Bihar Governor, who is in the Capital, lest a meeting at this juncture be misinterpreted.

Gujral said newspapers had written so many things that transpired during his meeting with the CBI director. “I am neither an editor of a newspaper nor can I go on contradicting reports appearing in them,” he said.

Kidwai pontificates

*Bihar Governor A R Kidwai today asserted that he would take a decision independently on the issue of granting permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for charge-sheeting Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam.

“I will take a decision only after fully satisfying myself and shall not be guided by the Prime Minister, the Home Minister or anybody else,” Kidwai, who is camping here since Tuesday, told reporters here.