Why no judicial or political activism in paddy scam?
Patna,(BiharTimes): The recent decision of the Patna High Court to dismiss a petition seeking a CBI probe into the alleged swindling of over Rs 4,000 crores in the name of paddy processing by private mill-owners has come as a big surprise.
The court ruling came after the CBI expressed its inability to take over the probe on the plea that it may find it difficult to deal with over 1,500 FIRs filed in this matter. What is strange is that the CBI director, Anil Sinha, is from Bihar.
“If the High Court can order CBI probe into Rs 900 crore fodder scam in mid-1990s why can not it do the same in case of the paddy scam which may run go as high as Rs 10,000 crores,” asked Shiv Prakash Rai, the petitioner, while talking to the BiharTimes.
Not only the court the BJP is silent on the issue. Though its leader Sushil Kumar Modi was a petitioner in the fodder scam and forcefully highlighted the medicine scam a few months back, none of its leader are prepared to expose the Nitish Kumar government now. After all the CBI is in the hands of the Centre, where the BJP government is in power.
Sources said that the BJP’s indifference is understandable as a large number of mill-onwers involved in the alleged paddy scam are either in the saffron party or are close to it. The origin of this scam can be traced in 2010, when the BJP was sharing power with the BJP.In 2013 the issue was widely reported in the media, including the BiharTimes.
The Patna High Court on Wednesday dismissed the case after Shiv Prakash Rai did not agree to the court’s suggestion for a state probe.The Bihar government suffered a loss of Rs 500 crore in the year 2011-12 alone as mill-owners failed to deposit government rice in FCI godowns on behalf of the State Food Corporation.
The big question is why there is no political and judicial activism when the state exchequer suffered a loss of at least Rs 4,000 crore and at most Rs 10,000 crores. All this when the High Court accepts that the scam has taken place.
