Case against Sonia's PA, Oppn on backfoot?

Case against Sonia's PA, Oppn on backfoot?
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, March 21: In a significant development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Vincent George, personal secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, accusing him of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of income.

The agency filed an FIR in the Designated CBI court on Tuesday evening, its spokesman S M Khan told reporters here.

The case was registered against George under Section 13(2) read with 13 (I)(E) of Prevention of Corruption Act (acquisition of disproportionate assets) during the period between November 1984 and December 1990 when George was functioning as a public servant in his capacity as personal secretary of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and later leader of the Opposition.

A preliminary inquiry was registered against George on March 2000 on the basis of "disclosures" made by former Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate Ashok Aggarwal, agency sources said.

The move against the Congress president's aide comes even as the Opposition led by Sonia Gandhi paralysed Parliament for the seventh day today with slogan-shouting, forcing Speaker G M C Balayogi to adjourn the House for the day.

The Opposition led by Congress stormed the well chanting gali, gali mein shor hai, yeh sarkar chor hai (there is word everywhere that the Government is corrupt) while the ruling NDA members countered by accusing the Congress of being corrupt.

For a change, the Opposition protest was led by women members who stormed the well even before the House was called to order this morning.

Women members belonging to the Congress, Samajwadi Party, AIADMK, CPI(M) and RJD refused to heed to the repeated pleas by the Speaker to return to their seats forcing him to adjourn the House for an hour.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was present when the House assembled for the day, was seen talking to his party colleagues even after it was adjourned.

Earlier, Parliament approved the crucial vote-on-account to meet Government expenditure beyond March 31 with Rajya Sabha returning the relevant money bills.

The vote-on-account for General and Railway Budgets would enable the Government to draw from Consolidated Fund for payment of salaries and to meet other expenditure from April one onwards for three months.

Unlike Tuesday's pandemonium in Lok Sabha when the vote-on-account was approved, it was a smooth affair in Rajya Sabha which also passed by voice vote appropriation bills for the last batch of supplementary demands for grants for the current year.