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Gowda wants CBI brought under President

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELGAUM, FEB. 24. The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, today urged the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, to clarify his stand on curbing the menace of corruption in the wake of the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's recent call to make the country corruption free.

Addressing presspersons here, he stressed the need to bring investigation agencies, including Central Bureau of Investigation, under the President. Institutions, including Lok Pal and Lokayukta, had been of little help. There had been many cases of corruption but those involved in them had not been held guilty. This showed that the institutions set up for the purpose had lost their relevance. The CBI was being used to destroy political opponents, he alleged.

Mr. Gowda said there should be greater transparency in the functioning of the Income Tax Department. A system should be evolved to look into the assets of elected representatives. "I will write to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, besides all political parties to spell out their stand on corruption in their poll manifestoes," he added. He said the Congress Government would leave loans amounting to Rs. 8,000 crore. "I do not know how the next Government will handle this burden,'' he added.

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