The Hindu : Probe will be impartial: Mayawati

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 20, 2003

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Probe will be impartial: Mayawati

By J.P. Shukla

LUCKNOW APRIL 19. In an apparent bid to look judicious to her critics, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, today issued a directive to avoid unnecessary harassment to beneficiaries of the Chief Minister's discretionary fund granted during Mulayam Singh Yadav's tenure while asserting that those found guilty of misusing Government money would not be spared.

The directives issued to the Inspectors-General of Police, Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, District Magistrates and District Police Superintendents detail the procedure to be followed in registering cases and arresting beneficiaries. Officials have been asked to conduct investigations impartially.

Talking to newspersons here, Ms. Mayawati denied allegations that her decision to take action in this regard smacked of political vendetta. The beneficiaries would not be prosecuted only on the ground that they had received more grants than what was then permissible. Action would be taken only in cases where there was misuse of the grants.

First Information Reports would be registered only after cases were examined by the State Government and arrests made after securing necessary warrants from competent courts, she said.

Ms. Mayawati said there were two specific reasons why the Government decided to enquire into the misutilisation of discretionary grants. First, Mr. Yadav had violated rules by sanctioning grants in excess of Rs. 35,000 that was improper before April 7,1994. Secondly, in a large number of cases, the beneficiaries had misused the grants. On the first ground, only Mr. Yadav was guilty while the beneficiaries were at fault on the second ground, she said.

Ms. Mayawati announced plans to widen the scope of her enquiry beyond the rule of Mr. Yadav and said cases of beneficiaries receiving grants during the tenure of all Chief Ministers after 1995 would be scrutinised.

Referring to cases during President's Rule in Uttar Pradesh when Motital Vora was the Governor, Ms. Mayawati said she had all the respect for the office of Governor. However, Mr. Vora had sanctioned huge grants to persons of his choice from the U.P. Chief Minister's Discretionary Fund, for which he was not authorised. Prior to October 8, 1999, no one except the Chief Minister was authorised to grant money from the fund under the rules.

She warned Mr. Yadav and his supporters of strict action if they tried to take the law into their hands

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Not a vindictive act, says Mayawati

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