Biswas was in a hurry and broke rules, says Gupta

Thursday, August 7 1997

Biswas was in a hurry and broke rules, says Gupta

ENS & AGENCIES

NEW DELHI, Aug 6: Home Minister Indrajit Gupta today informed the Rajya Sabha that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Joint Director UN Biswas was in a hurry to arrest former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, though the Supreme Court (SC) had given him time till August 6 to execute the arrest warrants in the fodder scam.

Replying to clarifications on the issue of the CBI seeking Army assistance for execution of warrants of arrests against Laloo, Gupta said ``The CBI officials flouted the procedure. There was no need to arrest Laloo as early as July 26.''

He said the Chief Secretary and the Director-General (DG) of Police of Bihar have vehemently denied allegations that they had not cooperated with the CBI officials to execute the arrest.

Gupta said a high-level inquiry had been constituted to look into the entire matter. However, if the Chief Secretary or the DG were found negligent in their duties, serious action will be taken against them.

The Minister said, ``We do not want any Tom, Dick and Harry to call the Army's help to assist the civil administration.''

He said the Ministry had collected some information on this issue through intelligence agencies.

Gupta was replying to a short duration discussion on the prevailing situation in Bihar.

Referring to the installation of Rabri Devi as Chief Minister of Bihar, the Minister said, ``It is ridiculous to nominate a successor by Yadav. It may be technically correct, but morally and ethically it is not justified.''

Gupta said the Government was firmly of the view that no body who occupied high office should continue if serious charges were made against him.

``This was communicated to Yadav on several occasions. But he did not yield. He did not follow our advice,'' he said.

The Minister also referred to the dynastic rule in the country, saying it is an imperial legacy. ``This is a tradition which we have inherited from imperialism.''

Gupta's blunt critique of the declining standards in Bihar was in fact used to lament falling standards nationwide. ``I don't agree with the idea of singling out Bihar as a model state of criminality and corruption. It is happening all over the country,'' he lamented.