Cong dissociates from Mayor refusing sanction for Jain prosecution

New Delhi, Aug 23 (UNI) The ruling Congress in the Municipal corporation of Delhi today dissociated themselves from the decision of Mayor Farhad Suri to refuse sanction to the CBI for prosecution of councillor Ashok Jain who was allegedly caught red-handed accepting a bribe from a person for allowing reconstruction of his demolished structure.

Mr Suri had, on May 5, written to the CBI that the incident of Mr Jain being caught red handed was a result of political conspiracy and there was no criminal intention in it. Based on this letter, the director of the MCD vigilance department wrote to the CBI on May 19 that it is not necessary to prosecute Mr Jain under different sections of the prevention of corruption act, 1988.

However, in a statement issued in a meeting of the MCD House here, Leader of the House Jitender Kochar said it was a matter between the Mayor and the CBI and the Congress party had nothing to do with it.

''Whatever the Mayor wrote to the CBI was in his personal capacity and the Congress party was not in anyway associated with it,'' Mr Kochar said in a written statement read out in the house.

Describing Mr Kochar's statement as a clear case of the the Congress party expressing its no-confidence in the Mayor, the BJP members indulged in slogan-shouting in the house calling upon the Mayor to resign from his post.

The sloganeering BJP members first gathered in the well of the House on the issue and then staged a walk out.

In his statement on the matter, Mayor Suri said,''I took a decision in the Ashok Jain case after carefully studying the file prepared by the Commissioner. I felt there was not substantial ground for CBI to act against Mr Ashok Jain. I stand by my decision.'' Stating that his conscience was clear, Mr Suri said that if, however, it was proved that he was wrong, he was ready to face the consequences.

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