Judicial scrutiny better than CBI enquiry-Left

New Delhi, Mar 2 (UNI) The Left parties today favoured judicial scrutiny in place of CBI looking into the allegations of amassing huge wealth to their known source of income against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family saying the agency had time and again been misused by the powers at the Centre.

CPI top leaders told UNI that no non-Left politicians could claim sanctity as far as individual wealth was concerned. ''They are all immersed in the quagmire of corruption, nepotism and other such vices.'' The CPI(M) said the Supreme Court ordering a CBI investigation into Yadav and his kin's assets was just a ''preliminary enquiry.'' The Left parties also took a strong view of the repeated disruption of business of Parliament by the BJP and its allies since February 26, when the Rail Budget was presented, while asserting that an ''isolated discussion'' on the ''Quattrocchi affair'' would not help wiping out corruption in public life.

On Yadav's assets, CPI Leaders A B Bardhan and Shamim Faizi said in place of scoring on personal issues, the political parties should concentrate on real socio-economic issues and development of the state.

''It will be better to corner Mulayam Singh Yadav on acquisition of land for Reliance and undue concessions granted to other corporate houses during his regime,'' Mr Bardhan, the veteran Communist and freedom fighter said.

CPI(M) Floor leader in the Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta did not go beyond saying that ''let there be an inquiry.'' At a press conference in the Parliament House, Mr Dasgupta, however came down heavily on the BJP and its allies for repeatedly disrupting the proceedings of the House saying they prevented discussions on most burning public issues- abnormal price rise, resurgence of communal flare-up in various parts of the country, agrarian crisis, farmers' suicide and the SEZ policy among others.

''We have also been demanding a structural debate on withdrawal of levy of duty on cement ad valorem,'' the CPI(M) leader added.

On Yadav's issue, the CPI leaders said the CBI or any other investigating agency is not out of the purview of the Powers at the Centre. ''It was misused by senior BJP leader L K Advani himself who got himself exonerated in the Babri-Masjid demolition case.'' They said it was also misused to cover up the charges of corruption levelled against the adopted son-in-law of the then Prime Minister A B Vajpayee. ''So it is always better to have judicial scrutiny of the scam rather than leaving it to any investigating agency which is under the purview of the Home Ministry or the PMO.'' UNI