Misuse of CBI in Jagan DA case: BJP

Alleging misuse of CBI in Jaganmohan Reddy disproportionate asset case, BJP today alleged Congress has maintained double standards in the way it has asked the probe agency to handle cases pertaining to Gujarat while asking it to go soft on Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Asked if BJP is supporting Jaganmohan, party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that is not the issue but charged Congress is definitely playing some game with Jaganmohan and it is clear that both are "walking hand in hand".

BJP said the release of Jaganmohan after he had spent 16 months in jail raises several questions. The party alleged ten chargesheets were filed against him in a staggered manner over several months in a clear case of misuse of CBI and with the hope of influencing a by-election in 2012.

Sitharaman sought to know why CBI has now--16 months after his arrest--said that in seven cases filed against Jaganmohan there is not enough material. Though a person can be incarcerated only for 90 days for custodial questioning, in his case it has been 16 months.

The main opposition also charged that another misuse of CBI is the fact that five cabinet ministers, who are named in cases where Jaganmohan is the first accused, have not been arrested so far and even continue to be ministers. Sitharaman named Sabita Reddy, Dharmana Prasad Rao and Geeta Reddy as well as M Venkat Ramana as the ones not arrested while Ponnala Lakshmi Narayana is now a witness.

"The government's double standard is also clear in the way in which CBI is instructed to handle cases related to Gujarat. The obsessive pursuit and harassment to please political masters stand out. Why does CBI not handle the Andhra Pradesh ministers, both on disproportionate asset or on encounters similarly?" Sitharaman said.

She alleged the government has asked CBI to close the disproportionate assets case against Yadav and he is being "completely let-off".