Digvijay hits back at Centre

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, AUG. 29. The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Digvijay Singh, has gone on the offensive over the reported allegation that he had received a huge sum of money from a liquor manufacturer and accused the Centre of hatching a conspiracy to tarnish the ``good image'' of the Congress and destabilise the Congress Governments in the States''.

Asked to comment on a newspaper report alleging that he had received crores of rupees from a liquor manufacturer, Mr. Digvijay Singh told The Hindu that ``it is a slander campaign'' against him. When his attention was drawn towards the ``diary and papers'', supposed to have been seized by the Income Tax Department, he said, ``my name does not figure anywhere''.

Mr. Singh said some higherups in the NDA and the BJP were behind the conspiracy to destabilise the Congress Governments and questioned the role of the Income Tax Department.

He wanted to know how the ``unsubstantiated details'' had got leaked to the press and said he had already written to the Prime Minister and sought an independent inquiry. He was regularly filing income tax returns and submitting the details about his property and assets in the State Assembly.

The issue figured prominently in the State Assembly on Tuesday. Many Opposition MLAs had trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans and demanding the Chief Minister's resignation. Talking to presspersons today, he said this matter would be brought up during his meeting with the Union Finance Minister on September 1.

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Section  : National
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