Satyam: Pranab says no effort to shield guilty

Amid allegations that the Andhra Pradesh Government is creating hurdles in the SEBI investigation into the Satyam scam,Pranab Mukherjee,who holds the additional charge of Finance,on Thursday rejected all such charges and said the Central Government will not bail out anyone and the guilty will be punished.

The Governments intention is not to bail out any individual. The Governments interest is not to protect any wrong doers, he told the Rajya Sabha. Mukherjee said Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has assured him of all cooperation to any investigating agency.

Noting that the case has already been handed over to the CBI,he said we may have to wait for full investigation into the matter.

Mukherjee said the Government had no intention to give a package to bail out Satyam. The new board of directors does not feel it is necessary. They have adequate unencumbered assets that can make the company float if it is run professionally, he said.