Sack the minister who pressurised judge,demands Oppn

He said it was not only a case of “criminal contempt”,but also amounted to an act of “misdemeanor” by the minister. The senior BJP member said the government need not wait for the judge to reveal the name of the minister and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should write to the Chief Justice of India to identify him. “The Prime Minister must make a statement in the House and drop the minister,” he said.

Describing the incident as “mockery and assault” on the independence of judiciary,Brinda Karat (CPI-M) said it reflected “blatant misuse of power” and a “nexus” between the minister and a person charged with committing forgery.

Justice R Reghupathi had said in an open court that a Union Minister had telephoned him and tried to influence him to grant anticipatory bail to a father-son duo booked by CBI for allegedly using the services of a Pondicherry University official and a middleman to inflate marks.

Karat wanted to know why the government was maintaining a “deafening silence” over the matter and demanded that the Prime Minister must come out with a statement.

V Maitreyan (AIADMK) said he had already alerted the Prime Minister about “the tainted ministers” in his cabinet who only bring him “disgrace”.

“(Pradhan mantri) aap ki ganga maili ho gayee,in paapiyon ki paap dhotey dhotey (your ganga has been polluted while washing the sins of these sinners),” he said.

The AIADMK member also said though the judge did not name the minister,”everyone in Chennai is fully aware of who the ‘king’ of this mischief is”.

Both Karat and Maitreyan recalled the murder of the whistle blower in the case in 2008. “…the Prime Minister will have to face more of such ignominy in the near future. The choice for the Prime Minister is straight and simple — dump the not-so-honourable elements in his cabinet,” the AIADMK MP said.

Maitreyan said the Law Ministry should obtain the name of the minister from the CJI or the Madras High Court,register a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the minister and dismiss him immediately.