The Clear Deal Behind The Deal

N-deal politics could fast-track the CBI cases against Mayawati and slow down those against Mulayam, says SRAWAN SHUKLA

MULAYAM SINGH

tracking the trial November 2005 PIL filed in SC against Mulayam for allegedly amassing crores March 2007 SC orders CBI inquiry October 2007 CBI tells SC that the inquiry is complete May 2008 Mulayam fails to file a counter-affidavit SC yet to announce a date for hearing

Uttar Pradesh politics has been in turmoil ever since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) nailed Chief Minister Mayawati over the disproportionate assets (DA) case. But the role of the country’s premier investigative agency has come under scathing attack for keeping a similar case against Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on a slow burner.

The CBI is learnt to have unearthed Rs 17 crore of disproportionate assets during preliminary investigations into the case against Mulayam and his family members. But, the case file has been gathering dust, ostensibly in the wake of the changing political equations at the Centre.

The CBI investigation has been the result of a public interest litigation (PIL) against Mulayam Singh in the Supreme Court in November 2005 by Vishwanath Chaturvedi.

The petitioner had alleged that Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members misused his political powers ever since the 1970s to amass huge wealth running over a hundred crores. Before filing the PIL, the petitioner had shot off letters to the UP Governor TV Rajeswar and the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil demanding a CBI probe into the matter. The petitioner listed as many as 18 immovable properties, both registered and benami, owned by Mulayam Singh Yadav, 11 by his son Akhilesh Yadav, six by Akhilesh’s wife Dimple, and two by Prateek Yadav, Akhilesh’s step-brother. The assets include agricultural land, residential plots, houses, jewellery and huge investments.

During the course of arguments in the Supreme Court over the PIL, the petitioner contended that Mulayam and Akhilesh Yadav have had no other business except political activities since 1977. All these properties had thus been acquired through illegal means, he alleged. Finally, the Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices AR Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir, ordered a CBI inquiry in March 2007 to probe the charges and submit a preliminary report to the Centre. Nearly eight months later, in end-October 2007, the CBI stated that it had completed its inquiry and sought further directions from court.

The Supreme Court went on to issue notices to Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh, Prateek and Dimple Yadav and also to the Centre. Though Mulayam had responded to the allegations against him in February 2007, during the course of arguments in the PIL, his counsel did not file any counter affidavit when the case was put up in April this year and again in May.

The petitioner, Vishwanath Chaturvedi, has been under constant threat ever since he filed the public interest litigation. When attempts to induce him to withdraw the case failed, several fake police cases were allegedly slapped on him. Part of his home in Lucknow was demolished during Mulayam Singh’s regime, on the grounds that it had been illegally constructed. Chaturvedi was thus forced to leave Lucknow and live in hideouts in New Delhi for several months.

“We are waiting for fresh date, which is expected by end of this month,” Chaturvedi told TEHELKA. He is unfazed by the political developments at the Centre that have seen the Samajwadi Party joining hands with the Congress. “I have full faith in the Supreme Court. I will continue to fight the case to take it to its logical conclusion,” he said.

But, with a new political alignment at the Centre, the disproportionate assets case against the Samajwadi Party chief is unlikely to be fast-tracked any time soon. The ball is now in the Centre’s court. With Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav swapping places in the new political equation, the balance of the United Progressive Alliance government is naturally tilted in favour of Mulayam. The CBI’s sudden swoop on Mayawati days before the trust vote on July 22 seems to be a part of the more local deals that surround the nuclear deal’s global ambit.

MAYAWATI

In her newfound bonhomie with the Left, UP Chief Minister Mayawati may have hoped to settle political scores with the Congress

money matters Mayawati has assets worth 52 crore, according to her pre-election affidavit CBI tells SC that Mayawati has 96 properties in her and relatives’ names Mayawati claims money and property were given to her by BSP workers 30 of the 130 donors Mayawati listed backtracked during cross-examination

and the Samajwadi Party in one stroke. But her parting ways with the United Progressive Alliance may cost her dear if the apex court allows the CBI to proceed with chargesheets in the disproportionate assets case against her and several relatives.

As per the revelations the CBI made to the SC on July 10, Mayawati’s unaccounted-for wealth would outstrip many leaders who have undergone similar probes. It took 28 years for arch rival Mulayam Singh Yadav to amass less than half the wealth she acquired in just three years. Her personal fortune, as stated in her pre-election affidavits, jumped from Rs 1.35 crore to Rs 52 crore; she also bought 96 properties in her and relatives’ names. These include 41 pieces of agricultural land, 18 residential plots, five pieces of forest land, seven commercial properties, three orchards, two shop-cum-commercial residences, two hotels, several residential buildings and various other properties across five cities. Among close relatives under the CBI scanner are her father Prabhu Dayal, mother Ram Rati and brothers Anand Kumar, Siddharth Kumar, Raj Kumar and Subhash Kumar apart from 38 others. Add to this the scores of bank accounts belonging to Mayawati, her relatives and others that the CBI claims to have unearthed. These accounts were allegedly used to park and channelise the CM’s black money.

In her reply, Mayawati claimed that the money and assets were donated by her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) workers and sympathisers. But during cross-examination, 30 of the 130 donors Mayawati listed backed out, saying they did not have the means to donate the huge sums it would have required to account for the CBI haul.

The revelations’ irony is heightened when one considers the occasions where the BSP chief publicly spoke of having no relatives since she had decided to devote her life to the Bahujan Samaj in 1989.

The steep rise in Mayawati’s wealth came to the fore during an inquiry into Rs 175 crore Taj Corridor scam of 2003, in which the agency had even lodged an FIR against her. But the case was dropped following a refusal for prosecution. The case resurfaced this year after Mayawati filed a petition in May asking the apex court to quash the assets case. The SC directions to file a status report gave the CBI a chance to reopen the case and seek permission to file chargesheets.

UP’s Advocate-General Jyotindra Mishra told TEHELKA that Mayawati would challenge the CBI for seeking permission to chargesheet her. Apparently her counsel is depending on the contention that no case can be made against her when the original case of the Taj Corridor has been closed.

Who advised Mayawati to stir a hornets’ nest against herself by filing a fresh petition? That is the question presently churning in UP’s power circles. The BSP is busy assessing the political situation in case the CBI files chargesheets leading to Mayawati’s arrest. Mayawati is likely to hold a rally in Lucknow to begin the damage- control exercise.