With both the ruling Congress and opposition BJP members in the State Assembly demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the bogus employment scam in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Speaker Yoganand Shastri on Friday said he would request Leader of the House Sheila Dikshit to inquire into the matter and if need be order a probe by the premier investigating agency.
The matter was raised during special mention by Congress MLA Anil Bharadwaj who said that it had come to light through news reports that there were about 22,000 such employees in the MCD who were not working anywhere. He said the matter had been acknowledged by the MCD Commissioner himself on the basis of a vigilance report.
Mr. Bharadwaj, who is also Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister, said in view of the serious matter it was essential that the people behind the scam were identified and punished. He also informed that Urban Development Minister A.K. Walia had been urged to order a probe by the CBI or any other independent investigating agency.
At this Dr. Walia said he would take information from the MCD Commissioner and initiate necessary action. “There is no political issue here. We need to improve the system and let there be a CBI probe if necessary.’’
However, as other Congress member, including another Parliamentary Secretary Tarvinder Singh Marwah, joined in and began accusing the BJP for the scam, Leader of Opposition V.K. Malhotra stood up and suggested that “let there be a CBI probe. Also, those involved in the scam during the earlier Congress rule should be punished”.
With the former Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi also making the same demand, the Speaker gave his ruling.
