Congress-SP tie-up indicator? CBI to close disproportionate assets' case against Mayawati

NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi may have criticised Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati for ‘capturing of Dalits’ at a rally in Delhi on Tuesday, but that will not stop CBI from closing a disproportionate assets case against the BSP supremo soon. The news of closure of the case comes amid talk of a possible electoral understanding between Congress and BSP in Uttar Pradesh for the 2014 Lok sabha polls.

Even as Gandhi thundered that if the Dalit movement was to be taken forward then “one Dalit leader or two Dalit leaders would not be enough”, especially not when the leadership had been “captured” by Mayawati, CBI director Ranjit Sinha told ET that the probe against Mayawati was effectively closed. Sinha said that the agency would be closing the DA probe against Mayawati since legal opinion obtained by the agency on a August 8 Supreme Court verdict made it clear that there was no point in pursuing the case in which the FIR has been quashed by the Supreme Court.

“CBI is winding up the case as the FIR was quashed by the court,” a CBI spokesperson added. ET was first to report on September 19 that Sinha had sought legal opinion on what to do next in the matter after the SC order had said the FIR in the DA case stood quashed as it was not lodged on the its orders.

“When the case was registered, the DA amount was sizeable but the charge-sheet was inordinately delayed with Mayawati approaching court against the CBI FIR,” the officer said. Former CBI Director US Mishra, during whose tenure CBI registered the DA case in 2004, said the FIR was an off-shoot of the Taj Corridor case investigation against Mayawati. This case also ended in closure after the UP Governor declined CBI the permission to prosecute her.

Rahul Gandhi did concede that Mayawati had played an important role in the second phase of Dalit empowerment in the country. Gandhi said the first stage involved Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, who along with Congress contributed in writing the Constitution and ensuring reservations for them.