Launching a fresh attack on Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Arun Dhumal, the younger son of former chief minister and leader of opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal, on Thursday said the money laundering scam involving the current CM was “much bigger than what was estimated by the investigating agencies”.
Addressing a press conference here, Arun claimed that the case against Singh involved an amount of Rs 1 lakh crore, and that he had ample evidence to prove it.
Though he did not make any document public to substantiate the charges, he said he would do so in the future.
He said the non-governmental organisation (NGO) “Common Cause”, which filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against Singh in the corruption case, put the value at Rs 20 crore, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was probing just Rs 6 crore.
“This is not a case of Rs 6 crore or Rs 20 crore, but Rs 1 lakh crore. I say it with full responsibility that if the investigating agencies, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) want, I would present the evidence in a court of law when the chargesheet is filed,” he added.
Despite the fact that it was a clear-cut case of corruption, Arun alleged, leaders like P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi were trying to save Singh. “It is all being done at the behest of Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. A few Himachal officials, too, are trying to approach the CBI and ED in a bid to save the chief minister,” he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Despite the fact that it was a clear-cut case of corruption, Arun alleged, leaders like P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi were trying to save Singh. “It is all being done at the behest of Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. A few Himachal officials, too, are trying to approach the CBI and ED in a bid to save the chief minister,” he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Arun said it was for the first time in the history of Himachal Pradesh that the CBI raided the residence of a sitting chief minister.
“After the raids, we were anticipating that Singh would step down on moral grounds, but he instead raised a hue and cry over the timing of raids, which coincided with his daughter’s marriage, and tried to gain sympathy,” said Arun.
He alleged that Singh was now trying to implicate former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in a false case. “The list of properties they are claiming to be ours (Dhumal family) were never owned by us. I don’t know what he is trying to prove through such false claims,” said Arun.
He said Virbhadra always resorted to negative politics and earlier, too, tried to implicate his family in false cases, which could never be proved.