Virbhadra accuses Dhumal of maligning him through CD exposure

New Delhi, Aug 7 (ANI): Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh on Friday accused Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal of using a CD, to file a corruption case against him.

Speaking to reporters here Singh suspected some more people were also involved in the surprise and sudden appearance of a 23 year-old incident.

The Himachal Pradesh State Vigilance and Anti- Corruption Bureau filed a case against Singh and his wife Pratibha, under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 on Monday based on an audio CD released by former state Minister Major Vijay Singh Mankotia.

Mankotia who was the Tourism Minister in Singh's cabinet is considered a political adversary of Singh in Himachal Pradesh politics.

Dhumal denied the charges made by Singh. He said the entire matter including the handing over of the case to vigilance and the sending of the CD to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Chandigarh for a voice test took place when Singh himself was Chief Minister.

Mankotia had released the CD before the Hamirpur Parliamentary by-election in May 2008 and demanded that a probe be initiated against Singh.

In the CD, Singh was heard referring to some financial transactions on phone with former IAS officer Mahinder Lal, who is now no more.

On the last day of the budget session, the NDA staged a protest in the Lok Sabha over the issue and demanded an action against Singh.

Opposition members wanted to raise the matter during Zero Hour. Deputy Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj said a notice had been given for the same, but Speaker Meira Kumar had disallowed it. (ANI)