Opposition demands Railway Minister's sacking

Opposition today demanded Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's sacking and his prosecution in the wake of CBI arresting his nephew for alleged bribery to fix top level promotions in Railway Board.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad even appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee to exercise his authority so that the Railway Minister is brought to book.
In a hard-hitting statement, he said the latest corruption charges in Government further "reinforces" their demand for the Prime Minister's resignation.
"This government is no more a government of middlemen.It is a government of dealers, brokers and middlemen, where every government decision is up for sale and you must be prepared to offer the price.

"Congress has reduced the government to a bazaar where every decision is tradeable. This is very shocking and distressing state of affair," Prasad said.
NDA ally JD-U, however, surprisingly backed Bansal, with party President Sharad Yadav virtually absolving the Congress leader of any fault in the case.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O' Brien called the incident "retail bribery" as the scam had fewer zeroes.
Seeking Bansal's resignation on moral grounds, UPA ally Samajawadi Party said corrupt leaders should be suspended.
"The Prime Minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi need to realise that it is the Railway Minister's nephew who has been arrested with Rs 90 lakh. Bansal should resign on moral grounds. Leaders, who are corrupt should be suspended," said SP national general secretary Ram Asrey Kushwaha.

AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi, however, ridiculed the Opposition demand for Bansal's resignation saying "those who are demanding the resignation, have perhaps caught the disease of seeking resignations".
He noted that Bansal had himself called for full probe into the matter and nothing more can be expected from him. His remarks came ahead of a meeting of the Congress Core Group to take a view on the issue.