BJP levels bribery charge against Virbhadra Singh, calls it 'test' for Sonia, Rahul

New Delhi: BJP on Monday alleged that Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh took 'bribe' from a private power firm, calling the case a 'test' for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul on how they respond after their 'anger' and outbursts in the Adarsh housing scam.

Demanding a CBI probe into the 'most open and shut case of corruption', BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, wanted to know what action he, the Congress President and Vice President would take against Virbhadra Singh.

Singh has been accused by BJP of taking the 'bribe' for granting extension to a private power firm for a project.

Read more: BJP dares Rahul Gandhi to let Adarsh scam be probed

Singh dubbed the allegations of corruption made against him as 'false and highly defamatory' and said he was ready to face any enquiry ordered by the Prime Minster.

The Congress while dismissing the allegations dared BJP to go to courts or appropriate investigative agencies if it had any proof.

At a news conference in Delhi, Jaitley also alleged that the wife and children of Singh were made shareholders in another firm of the same promoter, who owns the power company, apparently in exchange of the favour showed by the state government.

"This is a test for Congress too. This is a test for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi too. Do they still feel angry on seeing these facts.... This will show if their recent outbursts on corruption in Adarsh case was a put on...or it was a genuine reaction or was it a contrived anger," he said.

In his five-page letter to the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said these are cases which require an immediate investigation by both the Income Tax authorities and also the CBI.

"Of all the cases I have seen till now, I have no hesitation in saying this is an open and shut case against Chief Minister Vibhadra Singh.... How can such a person continue to be Chief Minister of a state of India."

Congress spokesperson Sandip Dikshit said Jaitley's allegations do not mean much. "...Such things have come earlier also. Earlier when Virbhadra Singh was not Chief Minister and there was a BJP government in Himachal Pradesh, many allegations were levelled against him but nothing came out of them at the end of it as inquiries were held," he told reporters in Delhi.

"If he (Jaitley) has evidence, let him take that to the court or to the investigative agencies," he added.

Singh said the allegatiosn are a "sinister attempt" to tarnish his image. "I will take appropriate action at appropriate time including legal recourse”, he told mediapersons in Palampur.

Next: CBI checking claims of Virbhadra's insurance agent

CBI checking claims of Virbhadra's insurance agent

New Delhi: CBI is checking into claims made by an insurance agent about depositing Rs five crore in a bank account in the name of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his family as the agency geared up its probe into alleged payments to the tune of Rs 2.8 crore to a person with the initials 'VBS'.

Having registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against unknown persons last year after receiving a complaint from the State Trading Corporation, the CBI recently recorded the statement of an insurance agent who is said to have deposited Rs five crore in the bank account of Singh and his family towards buying life insurance policies.

Singh was in the eye of a storm last year after Income Tax department recovered internal papers of Mumbai-based ISPAT Industries Limited in 2010 which had entries like 'VBS' and 'APS to MoS'.

There were four entries made to the listed beneficiary - 'VBS'-which totalled up to 2.8 crores from October, 2009 to October, 2010. Singh, who has outright denied all the allegations of payoff, was Steel Minister from May 28, 2009 to January 18, 2011.

According to the CBI sources, Singh had filed Income Tax returns for three years - 2007-08 to 2009-10 - of Rs 40 lakh each every year. This was later revised by him to Rs 1.5 crore per annum for all the financial years stating that he had included his income from his apple orchards.

During investigations, the CBI claimed to have found that the money was deposited by an LIC agent Anand Chouhan for LIC policies. He was summoned to the CBI for examination recently, the sources said.

In his statement, the LIC agent allegedly claimed that he had been instructed to sell the apple orchards and deposit the money in the account of Singh and his family. The statement was being further cross checked before taking a decision on whether to summon the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.

The CBI's probe was earlier to identify government officials who were allegedly shown as beneficiaries in the seized documents. There were entries that showed payments were made to the Coal Ministry, State Trading Corporation and MSTC. However, after the 'VBS' controversy gained momentum, the CBI incorporated it in the same PE registered last year.

BJP has virtually launched a campaign against Singh. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley claimed Singh's involvement in various scams in 2002 and during his tenure as Chief Minister.