Govt playing safe, keeps self away from probe gamut: Jogi

Demands judicial commission to also probe whether UAVs were used to conduct surveillance parivartan yatra route or not

N Says no dearth of leaders in Cong to hold PCC chief post

Raipur, May 30, 2013

Senior Congress MLA Ajit Jogi has alleged that the government was playing safe by keeping itself away from gamut of judicial probe into May 25 naxal attack on Congress parivartan yatra. “The probe will be futile if the judicial commission would not inquire government’s role and responsibility,” he said while talking to the scribes at his residence on Thursday night.

“Among the nine points given to judicial commission for probe there is no mention that responsibility of the government too would be scanned. This is actually the major point to be inquired and hence the commission should include it,” said Jogi.

He said the commission should also inquire whether the government had sent unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to conduct surveillance of the route that was adopted by Congress leaders to return from Sukma during parivartan yatra or nor. “Some of our sources informed that the UAVs had been asked to survey wrong route. If this is so then it is a major blunder,” he said.

He said the commission needed to further investigate why chief minister Raman Singh did not oppose bail plea of Maoist Gudsa Usendi’s spouse Malti Priya who is presently in jail. 

On his alleged involvement in conspiracy to kill the Congress leaders, he said Madhya Pradesh BJP chief Narendra Singh Tomar had pointed finger towards him as he cried after the incident. “My lawyer Farhan has sent a legal notice to Tomar in this connection and has filed a criminal case under section 500 of IPC against him for dragging my name sans evidences,” he added.

When asked his take on reported censure by union minister of state Charandas Mahant to Congress MLA Kawasi Lakma on ‘route change’, Jogi nothing of that sort had happened and it was only a hype created by the media. “Mahant never rebuked Lakhma. He simply inquired about the route change from Lakhma in a friendly manner. I too have asked Lakhma in the same fashion,” he clarified.

He said the Congress had given prior information to the relevant government authorities about yatra’s route.

Asked if he would get chance to take reins of state Congress, he said it was not appropriate time to think about, however, he added that the party had no dearth of leaders to hold post of PCC chief.