The Congress, which was instrumental in propping up and sustaining Madhu Koda’s reign in Jharkhand for close to two years, on Wednesday sought to wash its hands of stating its commitment to “zero tolerance against corruption”.

“The Congress is for transparency, accountability and zero tolerance against corruption in public life,” said AICC spokesman Shakeel Ahmed in response to queries about the party’s stance on Koda who is facing money laundering and corruption charges.

The party’s stance flew in the face of the fact that it was the Congress’ central leadership that had ensured Koda’s survival as CM for almost two years before Shibu Soren-led JMM withdrew support in August last year forcing his ouster. The local unit of the Congress in Jharkhand had gone on an offensive against the Koda government from mid-2007 accusing it of corruption and inefficiency. The party state unit had even made a 19-point charter of demands and served Koda a 60-day ultimatum to perform or perish.

Ajay Maken, then AICC in-charge of the state, was also learnt to have taken a stern stand against the Koda regime and recommended to the party high command to withdraw support. The central leadership of the party had then prevailed upon the local unit to backtrack. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, then a UPA constituent, had also played a significant role in ensuring Koda’s survival.

On Wednesday, however, the AICC distanced itself from the former CM. “The Congress was supporting Koda government from outside. If our support for development and uplift of the people was misused, the law will take its own course,” said Shakeel.

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