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Congress blames Advani for petrol pumps scam

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI AUG 9. Seeking the immediate resignation of the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Ram Naik, for his "corrupt role'' in allotment of petrol pumps and LPG agencies, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Subhash Chopra, charged that everything was done at the behest of the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, who had directed the concerned Minister to "take care'' of RSS and BJP cadres.

The DPPC also threatened to launch a state-wide agitation from August 16 if Mr. Naik does not put in his papers by then. A total of 14 petrol pumps and six LPG dealerships have been allocated in Delhi, which now face the threat of being cancelled.

Addressing a press conference here along with senior party leaders including, Sajjan Kumar Jagdish Tytler, J.P. Aggarwal and Ram Babu Sharma, the DPCC chief said that a Commission of Inquiry should be instituted headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge to probe the whole scandal which had exposed the corrupt ways of not only the NDA Government but also the so-called upholders of morality, the Sangh Parivar which has been found neck deep involved in the scam.

Mr. Chopra said it was at the instance of Mr. Advani that a number of allotments were made to RSS cadres which was shameful. Stating that making recommendations for allotment was not a wrong thing, he said what was wrong was to pressurise the Chairmen of Dealer Selection Boards, who are former judges, to make wrong and arbitrary allotments. In fact, when some of the judges refused to toe the line of the ruling party, they were changed within a year without assigning any reason. "If Mr.Naik has any morality left, then he should immediately resign from office. This is a big scandal and blows up right in the face of BJP, which claims itself to be a party with a difference."

Terming the cancellation of petrol pumps by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, as a mere eye wash and an effort to cover up the misdeeds of the BJP and its Ministers, Mr. Chopra said such a move unless backed by a legislation would not stand any chance in the courts. Giving an example of the blatant manner in which allotment were made, Mr.Chopra said that in a number of cases, two agencies had been allotted to the same person which was illegal and not permissible under the law.

Mr. Tytler said the allocations were against the basic spirit of the Supreme Court guidelines, which were issued after the infamous Satish Sharma case. Mr. Naik has shown total disregard to the directions of the Apex Court and has tried to subvert the law by framing his own guidelines to suit the whims and fancies of his bosses. The role of Mr. Advani in this whole scam also needs to be probed as it is believed that Mr. Naik was acting at the instance of the Deputy Prime Minister in this case, he added.

The DPCC spokesman, Mukesh Sharma, charged Mr. Naik with creating an artificial shortage of CNG fuel in Delhi. He alleged that compressors for Mother Stations were not being imported deliberately as the Minister was yet to strike a deal with the concerned party for importing their product. Earlier, a similar shortage of compressors had sought to be created last year and Mr. Sharma had raised the matter in the Vidhan Sabha alleging a big scam.

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