CONGRESS MAY TRY ASHWANI, BANSAL FATE ON CBI

By Sanjay Singh / Delhi

The Congress is in for further embarrassment with CBI planning to question Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. This follows the questioning of his private secretary Rahul Bhandari, a 1997 batch Punjab cadre IAS officer. The investigative agency needs to cross-verify certain things with the minister that has come to its notice during the questioning of other accused in the bribery scandal, including his nephew Vijay Singla and arrested Member of staff of Railway Board, Mahesh Kumar. As and when that questioning happens, Bansal continuance in the ministry would become more untenable.
Given the sensitivity of the case, sources are not willing to reveal the time of the questioning but they suggest that the matter is under active consideration. Revelations on the surprising growth of Bansal’s family businesses in a short span of time and the funds from Canara Bank flowing into the family firms after their Chartered Accountant, Sunil Gupta, was appointed director of the bank are causing embarrassment to the party. These could affect Bansal’s longevity in the Union cabinet. However, all that is not under CBI’s investigation.

By questioning Bhandari who has been Bansal’s private secretary since 2009, CBI has moved a step closer to the questioning of the railway minister. Sources said Bhandari has admitted that Singla was in touch with him but has reportedly not given a clear answer on whether the minister was in the know of things. Bhandari is considered the eyes and ears of the minister and he kept a hawk’s eye on movement of files. The agency is working on the hypothesis and some information that a private secretary to the minister could not have acted or afforded to act without the nod of the minister, particularly when the matter in question involves a Board Member, a secretary level official.

A senior railway ministry official said two things were noteworthy in the whole episode: first, since the person involved in the bribery scandal was no ordinary person or from some outside business house but someone as high as Member of Railway Board who had daily interaction with the minister, Mahesh Kumar was convinced that nothing would move without payment of bribery to the minister’s conduit.

“Post Bangaru Laxman no one could be expected to be that foolish to accept cash directly. The trail of money should not be easy to connect, at least in a court of law,” the official said. He cited this to suggest that it was common knowledge to people at the top that it was only the colour and size of money that could make promotion and appointment files move and that the right conduit had to be located for the purposes.

Second, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha had been DG, Railway Protection Force, for over two years and was very well acquainted with the functioning of the railway ministry. The CBI had, after all, been tapping Singla and Mahesh Kumar’s phone on some specific tip off, possibly by an insider.

The big questions remains when would the Congress leadership decide on the fate of Bansal and Ashwini Kumar. The Congress leaders are now making a distinction between Bansal and Ashwini Kumar. While Bansal’s case is one of corruption, Kumar’s case is that of impropriety.

There could be a possibility that Kumar would only be shifted from the law ministry and not removed from the Cabinet. That could trigger a minor Cabinet reshuffle. Will that coincide with decision on who would be Karnataka chief minister? Two Union ministers Mallikarjun Kharge and Veerapa Moily are contenders for the post. The prime minister is now said to be reconciled with the idea of Ashiwni Kumar will need to shifted if not sacked.