The Hindu : Cong. bank accounts sealed in U.P.

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Saturday, Mar 15, 2003

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Cong. bank accounts sealed in U.P.

By J.P. Shukla

LUCKNOW MARCH 14. In a move that could have far-reaching consequences, the Uttar Pradesh Government has got the bank accounts of the Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) sealed for its failure to pay up arrears amounting to Rs 2.68 crores that the party owes to the State Road Transport Corporation.

This is the first time such action has been taken against a political party for recovery of government dues.

The arrears date back to the mid-`80s when the party was in power in U.P. and had requisitioned buses of the Corporation to provide transport facilities to its workers to attend Congress rallies. Interestingly, the requisitions to hire the buses were made by the then Transport Minister, Sanjay Singh, who has since left the Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The District Magistrate of Lucknow issued the recovery notices to the Congress a few days ago after a stay order issued by the Allahabad High Court against the first recovery notice issued in 1998 was vacated. The Congress, apparently, did not take the latest orders of the court vacating the stay order seriously and came to know of the latest developments only from press reports.

The UPCC president, Arun Kumar Singh Munna, described the Government action as "political vendetta." He said the Road Transport Corporation had never given a proof that the Congress owed it any money. "At least the party should get the requisition letters on the basis of which the buses had been hired.''

Mr Singh also questioned the moral authority of the Chief Minister, Mayawati, to take such action against the Congress when she herself, he alleged, had "withdrawn crores of rupees from Government funds to celebrate her birthday recently."

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