Gowda For Probe Into Corruption Charges

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda yesterday said he had always fought against corruption and asked Prime Minister I K Gujral to look into any graft charges during the first ten months of United Front rule, when he (Gowda) was heading the government.

Gowda, who maintained that his tenure was scam-free, said he was raising the issue because of a newspaper report charging corruption against his administration.

Our Prime Minister has taken a decided to constitute an anti-corrpution cell. I welcome it. But he must take some steps, first against the ten months rule of our own government, Gowda said, participating in a discussion on democracy in the Rajya Sabha.

A newspaper report on Wednesday referred to a public interest litigation into charges of corruption against railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan in a contract case. The former Prime Minister said the report also carried his photograph.

The report called,Paswan in Rs.200 crore mess, had said that Gowda would also be dragged into the case. He appealed to the Supreme Court to dispose of all public interest litigations in a time bound manner.