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Friday, Jul 29, 2005

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National

Congress demands CBI probe

Special Correspondent

"Party had raised the issue even when it was in the Opposition"

Babri Masjid case against Advani was dropped on technical infirmities and for want of a fresh notification

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation complete its probe into the "dubious'' sale of two Centaur Hotels, Mumbai stating that the party had raised the issue even when it was in the Opposition.

"When the Congress was in the Opposition, we sought a CBI probe and now we expect the premier investigative agency would complete its investigation to unearth its scandal and the beneficiaries,'' party spokesperson Anand Sharma said.

Asked about the party view on the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s demand that the CBI probe the alleged links between Ranjan Bhattacharya, a close relative of the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and A.L. Batra, who had bought and re-sold one of the Centaur Hotel, Mr. Sharma said the CBI should take note of any information that comes up on the deals.

Reacting to the framing of charges against Bharatiya Janata Party president L.K. Advani in the Babri Masjid demolition case, he said, the case against him was dropped on technical infirmities and for want of a fresh notification.

The subsequent charge-sheet filed by the CBI dropped the conspiracy clause, he said.

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