The Hindu : National : Investigate Zahira's previous statement: Fernandes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 24, 2004

National

National

Investigate Zahira's previous statement: Fernandes

NEW DELHI, DEC. 23. Dismissing ``as a pack of lies'' the allegation that the prime witness in the Best Bakery Case, Zahira Sheikh, was bribed to turn hostile, the National Democratic Alliance convener, George Fernandes, yesterday said there should first be an investigation into her previous statement that she had been threatened because of which she wanted the case to be shifted to Mumbai.

``They are all telling lies, they were born into falsehood,'' he told reporters when asked to comment on a videotape played by Tehelka newspaper in which the BJP MLA, Madhu Srivastava, was shown purportedly saying that Rs. 18 lakhs had been paid to Zahira.

Questioned whether money could have played a role in the case, Mr. Fernandes replied that ``the game of money is played both ways and we do not have that money power.''

Earlier he was speaking at a programme organised by the Janata Party president, Subramanian Swamy, to launch the Rashtriya Swabhiman Manch to discuss ``the threat'' to national security.

Terming the coffin scam as a ``conspiracy'' against him, Mr. Fernandes said he was ready for a fresh probe into the episode. ``But the Congress and its allies, which raised such a hue and cry at that time, do not seem ready for investigations now.''

The JD (U) leader, Jaya Jaitly, claimed that the earlier Tehelka episode was a ``conspiracy hatched to malign Mr. Fernandes.

Other speakers at the meeting, the RSS chief, K. S. Sudarshan, the VHP executive president, Ashok Singhal, and Dr. Swamy criticised the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, targeting her foreign origin.

PTI, UNI

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