The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Congress criticises bid to link its leaders to stamp paper racket

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 10, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Congress criticises bid to link its leaders to stamp paper racket

Staff Reporter

No evidence to link party leaders with stamp paper racket, says Congress

Bangalore: Several Congress leaders on Saturday advised Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to refrain from indulging in character assassination of senior Congress leaders. They accused him of attempting to associate some party leaders with the stamp paper racket on the basis of video clippings of the narco-analysis test on Abdul Kareem Telgi, the prime accused in the case, which were broadcast by some TV channels.

The test was conducted three years ago and there was no evidence of the complicity of senior Congress leaders in the racket. The Chief Minister was free to ask the Centre for a fresh inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the racket.

Congress Legislature Party secretary K.R. Ramesh Kumar; the former Minister Motamma; V.S. Ugrappa, B.A. Hasanabba and K.C. Kondaiah, MLCs; and T.V. Maruti, P.M. Ashok, A. Kenchegowda and V.S. Aradhya told presspersons here on Saturday that the Chief Minister was free to punish the guilty in the stamp paper scam.

They pointed out that no action was taken against Telgi when the City Market police filed a first information report against his associates in the same case in 1997. In contrast, it was a Congress government led by S.M. Krishna that arrested Telgi and also ordered an exhaustive inquiry by an additional Director-General of Police.

Mr. Kumar criticised the income tax authorities for not taking cognisance of serious irregularities committed in the registration of property belonging to influential persons despite the Congress writing to the department.

The Congress leaders accused Mr. Kumaraswamy of selectively leaking bits of video recordings of the narco-analysis test conducted on Telgi. They contended that there was nothing in the recordings to incriminate any Congress leader. Telgi had only said that Roshan Baig was his friend, they added.

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