Outlook: Patna: Sunday, September 14, 2014.
Senior BJP
leader Sushil Kumar Modi today joined the 'letter war' with former Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar on the Rs 25 crore medical scam by sending a scathing
reply for seeking information from him about the detail of the irregularities.
"You do
not need to seek information even through RTI because in reality you are the
Bihar government and everybody right from principal secretaries to the Chief
Minister report to you and take directions," the former deputy chief
minister wrote in response to Kumar's letter on Thursday.
"If the
CCTV footage or phone call records of your (Kumar) and CM residence is taken
out then it will be known that government officials visit your residence more
than CM's residence," he said in his letter.
Modi also said
out that a cavalcade of 61 cars had accompanied Kumar when he had visited
Nalanda recently, and Atish Chandra, who is the secretary to CM Jitan Ram
Manjhi, was also present in that convoy.
Kumar, who
had written to Modi two days ago, had sought information from him on the
financial irregularities in the purchase of medicines, medical equipment and
construction of health infrastructure in the state, so that he could reply to
the charges being made against him.
Starting his
blistering attack, Modi first thanked Kumar for writing a letter to him for the
first time and sending it through a special emissary, but criticised him for
providing it to the media beforehand.
Modi asked
Kumar whether one Shahnawaz Ali had not sent him an extensive letter along with
supporting documents about the scam on October 4, 2013, when he was the Chief
Minister and had the health portfolio with him.
"You
read all newspapers minutely, still when news about the scam were published on
December 3 and 6, 2013, what action did you take? Did you not get information
when a petition was filed with the Patna High Court on December 24," asked
Modi in the letter.
The BJP
leader wondered how Kumar was not aware about the scam when he was holding the
charge of the Health Minister and a probe committee was formed on January 13,
2014 under the chairmanship of Dr K K Singh. It was supposed to submit its
report in seven days.
"Why
didn't the probe report of that committee come even after five months? Had you
taken speedy action and had the probe report come on time the scam could have
been stopped from expanding," he said in the letter, copies of which are
made available with the media.
He also
raised the issues related to the posting of Sanjay Kumar, an official of
Central Secretariat Services, New Delhi, on deputation as private secretary to
Kumar, when he was the CM, and later as joint secretary of health department
and chairman of the technical evaluation committee meant for purchase of
medicines and equipment.
The BJP
leader alleged that the concerned official's sister-in-law was married to the
nephew of Kumar's former principal secretary, who is now a Rajya Sabha member.
He expressed
surprise as to why not even the state Vigilance Department was asked to probe
the scam, let alone CBI, and why Kumar is adamant on getting it investigated by
his bureaucrats.
Concluding
the 3-page letter, he requested Kumar not to make the medical scam a
"prestige issue", and to suggest the present Chief Minister Jitan Ram
Manjhi to order a CBI enquiry into it.
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