NEW DELHI, July 4: Raising the issue of arrest warrants against Environment and Forests Minister Suresh Prabhu, Congress members today demanded that the Prime Minister clarify whether he continued in the council of ministers. The matter was raised by N Bhaskara Rao who flashed a copy of The Indian Express which had carried an item on the Prabhu case. He wanted to know if the minister had resigned or had been sacked.Bhaskar Rao was supported by party colleague A C Jose, P Shiv Shankar, and P J Kurien. They met with some noisy opposition from the treasury benches. Vajpayee did not respond to the Congress MPs' demand that he should clarify whether he retained Prabhu in his ministry. But minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Ram Naik, said the Opposition should have served notice if they had wanted an answer from the government.Referring to the newspaper report, Bhaskar Rao said an Ernakulam magistrate had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Prabhu because he had failed to respond torepeated summons issued by the court in a cheque dishonour case. Prabhu today said he had never received any summons to appear in court in connection with a case of dishonouring of cheques and expressed surprise over the court's issue of non-bailable arrest warrant against him.Prabhu told mediapersons, ``They could have served me the summons, I am the Environment Minister and I attend the Parliament and my address in Mumbai is also known,'' Prabhu said, adding, ``I am not running away.''He, however, refused to comment on the merits or demerits of the case and said he came to know about it only through newspaper reports. ``I don't know the person who has filed the case,'' Prabhu said and added that he had already contacted his lawyer and would examine the matter. The Minister said he would reply to Parliament and the court.The warrant was issued by an Ernakulam court in a case filed by Dr K Joseph of Kochi, regarding the alleged dishonouring of two cheques issued by Mumbai-based Western IndiaFinancial Services Ltd in 1996, of which Prabhu was then chairman and managing director.According to corporate sources, the Western India Financial Services Ltd was a part of the Western Group of the Gadgils and was closed down in 1996. The other group of companies was also sold by the Gadgils in the following year, sources said.Besides Prabhu, the arrest warrants were also issued against two others Nandan Gadgil and Brijbhushan Nagpal, who were directors of the company.The complainant had alleged that he had remitted a short-term deposit of Rs two lakh to the Kochi branch of the company and received two post-dated cheques against it. Th cheques, when presented to the bank concerned after the maturity of the term, were dishonoured.The case has been filed under Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating) and Negotiable Instruments Act section 138.
