The Tribune
Shimla, January 23: In charge of the BJP affairs in the state Satya Pal Jain today defended MP Virender Kashyap in the video CD case and the manner in which he did it, made it obvious that the party leadership was not going to take any cognisance of the issue.
“There is a world of difference in the cases of Bangaru Lakshman, Suresh Chandel (both of whom were caught in camera accepting bribe) and Kashyap. While Chandel was an MP, action was taken against Laxman as the persons who committed the sting operation came forward and owned it. In contrast, the video CD was allegedly shot on April 17, 2009 and Kashyap had not even filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha poll till then, he told mediapersons at a press conference here today. ...
...He saw the Congress hand behind the triple CD conspiracy and said Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, who took no action in the matter as Chief Minister, had been trying to weaken the case against him all through. A former Congress minister Vijay Singh Mankotia released the CD on May 28,2007, but the Virbhadra Singh regime took no action on it till December 30,2007, when he lost power. In fact, a Congress party office-bearer approached the high court with a plea that BJP leaders be refrained from playing it.
He said it appeared to be another attempt to influence investigations into the case as copies of these CDs had not only been sent to the Governor and the Chief Justice of the high court but also to the judge handling the case.
Jain made it clear that a CID inquiry had been ordered into the two audio CDs and further action in the matter would be taken only after it was completed. Those behind the CD conspiracy would be exposed and brought to book. However, Congress leaders were demanding that a case be registered on the basis of unclaimed and unauthenticated CDs.
He said it was strange that Virbhadra Singh had chosen to make the state police officer who recommended that a case be registered against him as his private secretary on becoming the Union minister. Not only that he had also served a legal notice to file defamation case against the DGP, vigilance, which in effect amounted to a threat.
