Congress reacts cautiously to court charges against Virbhadra Singh

NEW DELHI: Congress today reacted cautiously to reports that charges were framed against Union Minister Virbhadra Singh in a graft case by a special court in Himachal Pradesh.

Party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters that he could not offer any immediate comment as the party takes a view in such matters only after going through the charges.

Besides, he said, the matter will have to be looked into by the Prime Minister, too, as Singh is also a member of his Cabinet.

Reports from Shimla had it that a special court today framed charges against Singh, Union Minister for Small, Micro and Medium Industries and his wife Pratibha Singh in a 23-year-old graft case.

Special Judge B L Soni, who had reserved framing charges on conclusion of arguments on June 6 last said that sufficient evidence existed for framing of charges against Singh and his wife in the "infamous" CD case in which they were allegedly having a conversation with IAS officer Mohinder Lal and some industrialists regarding monetary transactions.

The former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and his wife were booked in the case on August 3, 2009, on the basis of an audio CD released by former Congress Minister Vijay Singh Mankotia in May 2007 and the prosecution filed the case in the court of special judge in October 2010.