In another scathing attack on Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who is embroiled in the ‘bribe gate’ controversy, former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal alleged that Virbhadra had misled the Congress high command by distorting the facts.
Congress high command had chosen to back Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh after he gave clarification on his alleged business dealing with a promoter of Power company and his family business interests in sister concern of the said power company. The clarification of Virbhadra was recently posted on the website of All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Congress general secretary Ambika Soni had said that charges against Singh are not new.
Dhumal alleged that Virbhadra Singh had misled the AICC by distorting the facts. “Yes, the 17 MW Sai Kothi project was allotted to M/s Venture Energy and Technologies Pvt ltd promoted by Vakamulla Chander Shekher, by BJP Government along with eight other projects but after the company failed to get clearances from Centre and due to misrepresentation of facts, cancellation notice was served within six months,” said Dhumal
He added that a high powered committee of Congress Government in March 2003 had found that the stand taken by previous BJP Government for cancellation of project was correct and on November 2003, the project was cancelled by Congress Government itself. Thereafter, on September 2004, the MoU with the company was terminated. The company then moved High Court which upheld the Government’s decision and then the company approached the Supreme Court, which asked the State Government to reconsider the allotment of hydel power project to the company.
“The real issue started from here when re-allotment of project began but the cabinet rejected the proposal of the company three times. Also, a Minister at that time had observed that when the cabinet had already rejected the proposal of re-allotment thrice, someone is pushing the agenda time and again,” said Dhumal.
Former Chief Minister alleged that some powerful bureaucrats were behind the move and the company was re-allotted the project under pressure from political masters and implementation agreement was signed in June 2007. The company again defaulted and its extension period was to be over in April 2013 and the project was to get automatically cancelled as per the Power policy of the State.
The Congress Government then again favoured M/s Venture Energy Pvt ltd in the Cabinet meet on September 4, 2013 and gave 10 months special extension with the extension fee of Rs 20,000 per MW per month.
“Now, they have said that on November 12, 2013, the re-allotment of the project was secretly cancelled but it was only after the allegation of favoritism became public. Other projects on the same grounds were cancelled but M/s Venture Energy and Technologies ltd was given special extension as the CM was given unsecured loans of Rs 3.90 crore,” added Dhumal.
“Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had misled AICC, firstly by saying that Supreme Court had allotted the project but the fact is that it was not allotted and instead, the State Government was asked to just reconsider the allotment of project to the defaulting company,” added Dhumal.
Talking about the shares taken by parliamentarian wife Pratibha Singh, daughter Aprajita Kumari and son Vikramaditya Singh in Tarini Infrastructure Pvt ltd, a sister concern company of M/s Venture Energy and Technologies Pvt ltd, Dhumal said that Pratibha Singh is saying that she had received payment of Rs 60 lakh by selling the shares in
February but the fact is that as per the company return filed on November 11, 2013, she still has 3,40,000 shares of the company. Virbhadra Singh had said in his clarification to AICC that Tarini Infrastructure Pvt ltd is a public listed company and board of directors authorised the shares to his family but the fact is that the said company is not a public listed company and no board of directors exists and there is only promoter, Dhumal alleged.
“Congress high command should make its stand clear on the issue of corruption, as all the allegations against Virbhadra Singh and his wife are based on facts,” said Dhumal adding that investigating agencies should speed up their investigations as some documents are rumoured to have gone missing.