With Madhu Koda continuing to defy summons from probe agencies, Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken on Saturday said the Centre was not averse to asking the CBI to investigate the multi-crore money laundering charges against the former Jharkhand chief minister.
"If the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department are not able to bring the corruption charges to their logical conclusion, the CBI could be entrusted with the job," Maken told a press conference in Ranchi.
Maken was reacting to Koda's repeated failure to appear before the ED and the IT for questioning following the unearthing of a Rs 2,000 crore hawala transactions and illegal investments.
He rejected Koda's assertion that he was still part of the UPA government at the Centre.
Asked that in case of a hung assembly whether the Congress would have a post-poll alliance with independent MLAs facing corruption charges, he retorted, "The Congress would prefer to sit in the opposition to touching corrupt and tainted persons."
Without naming the RJD and the JMM, the union minister said the Congress could do little during the 23-month Koda rule as other alliance partners "patted him claiming he was doing good work and there was no need to remove him."
Reacting to CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechuri's comments that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should not have gone to the US as Parliament was in session, Maken said, "That is incorrect. A senior minister like Pranab Mukherjee was there ... and in this communication age one can keep in touch from anywhere in the world." PTI
