Kidwai To Give Nod Only After Cbi Clarifications

Bihar Governor A R Kidwai yesterday said he would take a decision on according sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and others in the fodder scam only after receiving clarification from CBI.

I have sought more clarifications from the CBI on certain points and shall be able to take a decision only when I receive them, he said in a communication to the press here.

The Governor, in his communication, said I have undertaken a primary review of the documents submitted by the CBI to me for five days after receiving them on the evening of may ten.

Kidwai said he had subsequently called the CBI officials to discuss the investigation report and the agencys request for prosecuting Laloo Prasad Yadav, Union minister for rural area and employment Chandradeo Prasad Verma, two Bihar ministers, Bholaram Toofani and Vidyasagar Nishad and former Chief Minister, Jagannath Mishra, in the scam.

I will make an in-depth study of all the relevant points after receiving CBIs clarifications and then only I will be able to arrive at a conclusion.

If necessary, he would also seek legal advice on the matter, Kidwai said.

CBI joint director (east) U N Biswas had called on the Governor on a summon on May 15 and the two had talks for over an hour on the investigation report and the CBIs request for sanction to prosecute the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, the Patna High Court, which had on May 19 asked the state and central governments to set a time-frame for according sanction to prosecute the public servants in the multi-crore scam, would hear the case today.

Meanwhile, the BJP yesterday criticised the Prime Minister and the Bihar Governor for wilfully delaying sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and others under political pressure as Governor A R Kidwai said he would take a decision on granting permission after receiving clarifications from the CBI.

Addressing a press conference, the leader of opposition in the state assembly, Sushil Kumar Modi, a petitioner in the scam case, criticised the Prime Minister for not dropping Chandradeo Prasad Verma from his council of ministers despite the CBI move for sanction from the President and the state Governor to prosecute him.