SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, May 2: As Chief Minister Hemant Soren is in the midst of an office-of-profit controversy and misusing his official position in awarding himself a lease to mine stone chips, old-timers recall how former Chief Minister of Bihar Krishna Ballabh Sahay had been embroiled in similar charges in 1970s, leading to an Inquiry Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.
Mineral-rich Jharkhand had been carved out of Bihar in 2000.
Sahay had been Chief Minister of Bihar from 1963 to 1967. He had been charged with enriching his sons and relatives by granting mining leases. He alongwith other Congress leaders had also been charged with making illegal gains or indulging in corruption, favoritism, abuse of power or other malpractices in granting mineral concessions and issue and renewal of leases, licenses, and permits, particularly with respect to mines, minerals, forests, forest-products, nonferrous metals, mills, generation and distribution of electricity, ferries, transport, etc.
Hailing from Hazaribagh, Sahay otherwise as Revenue Minister in Bihar is credited with having authored and passed the first pioneering legislation in the country to abolish the Zamindari system in 1952,
Besides the charge of granting a lease to himself, Soren has also been accused of allotting an 11-acre plot to his wife Kalpana Soren’s firm in an industrial park in Ranchi, mining leases to his brother Basant Soren, press advisor Abhishek Prasad and MLA representative Pankaj Mishra in Sahibganj. Soren heads both the mining and the industry departments.
Notably, the United Front ministry, headed by Mahamaya Prasad Sinha on October 10, 1967 constituted a commission to inquire into charges of corruption, favouritism and abuse of power by KB Sahay, Mahesh Sinha, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Ambika Sharan Singh, Raghavendra Narayan Singh and RLS Yadav.
Justice Iyer, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, constituted the one-man Commission. The hearing began on August 7, 1969 and concluded on October 7, 1969. On February 5, 1970 Iyer submitted his 1,332-page report to the Governor.
“If it helps Bihar regain its soul to any extent it shall have served its purpose.” Justice Iyer concluded his report of the Commission of Enquiry against six former Congress ministers, confirming the worst suspicion of the public.
According to the website NK’s Post, run by senior journalist N K Singh, the Commission questioned the integrity of all and actually sustained a charge of bribe-taking against one, Mahesh Sinha, who has received the severest condemnation.
Yadav was the general secretary of Bihar Congress. All others were in Congress(O).
KB Sahay
Former chief minister KB Sahay has been found guilty of enriching his sons and relatives at the cost of state exchequer. His assets have also been found disproportionate to his income.
Mahesh Sinha
Former minister and now vice president of Congress (O), Mahesh Sinha, 70, has received the severest condemnation for accepting bribes totalling ? 1.75 lakh from a contractor and showering undue favours at the cost of the State.
Satyendra Narayan Sinha
Satyendra Narayan Sinha has been found guilty of one charge of favouritism levelled against him.
Ambika Sharan Singh
Ambika Sharan Singh has been found guilty of abuse of power in two cases.
Raghavendra Narayan Singh
Raghavendra Narayan Singh, says the report, was intent on making petty gains and was guilty of behaviour unbecoming of a person occupying the exalted position of a minister. His net income during the period of his office was only ? 68,000, the acquisitions had reached ? 2.35 lakh.
RLS Yadav
Five charges relating to purchase and supply of stores materials, appointments, transfer and promotions and protection to criminals have been established against RLS Yadav.
After the mid-term poll in 1969, the accused Congress bosses, who occupy important positions in political life, installed Sardar Harihar Singh as chief minister. He appointed a briefing committee for the proceedings before the Aiyar Commission, but to retreat in the face of stiff opposition.
The 14-kg Aiyer-bomb explosion also influenced the behaviour of SSP’s Ramanand Tiwari and Karpoori Thakur, who revolted against the SSP-Syndicate-Sangh-Swatantra alliance within hours of the publication of the report. Tiwari resigned from the leadership of the four-party SVD, said NK’s post.
