New Delhi/ Patna/ Moradabad, May 5 (ANI): The demand for the dismissal of Railway Minister, Pawan Kumar Bansal intensified on Sunday as protesters burned his effigies in Moradabad shouting slogans against the Rail Minister and the Government. Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, Nilotpal Basu said that although Bansal was not directly involved in this case, he must step down from his post as a minister, as it would hinder the investigation process. “It is very clear that a prima facie case has been established where his nephew has accepted bribe and the bribe-giver was a railway board member. Therefore in the interest of absolute probity and transparency in the investigation process, his continuation becomes untenable,” said Basu. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), aggressively pressed their demand for the removal of Bansal.
“The murky details about Pawan Bansal are shocking. I don”t think 10 crore rupees promised bribe is sought to be given with two crores advance payment for a song or for a charity. There was a clear element of quid pro quo,” said BJP spokesperson, Ravishankar Prasad. Bansal”s nephew, Singla has been booked by the, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a bribery case involving high ranking railway official, Mahesh Kumar who took charge as a Member of the Railway Board just two days ago. However, former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said that Bansal was an honest man and his nephew should be charged for the crime. “Relatives and friends of those in power, try to misuse them.
This bribe was not given or demanded after the consent of Pawan Bansal. He is an honest man and a businessman. It is his nephew who is facing the charges and he should be put in jail,” said Yadav. According to CBI, Singla took a bribe of rupees 9 million from Kumar through a middleman for a lucrative position in the Railway Board. Sleuths of the CBI raided Singla”s residence at Chandigarh and also detained him later for interrogation. In Moradabad district, protesters gathered on the streets, shouting slogans against the list of scams that have emerged in this tenure of the government. The protesters also burned an effigy of the railway minister . Meanwhile, in New Delhi, a team of CBI officials presented Singla and other accused in a lower court. (ANI)