New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) The Congress accused the CBI on Friday of going soft in its probe against Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) Chairman Montu Patel in an alleged multi-crore-rupee scam.
Addressing a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here, Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that the CBI did not present all the facts before the court that led to Patel getting interim protection from arrest.
He said it took the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) two years to lodge an FIR, despite incriminating evidence against Patel. He alleged that the federal agency went soft on Patel and did not present the facts of the case properly before the court as the accused is an office-bearer of the BJP’s youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), in Gujarat.
There was no immediate response from the CBI to the allegations.
Gohil said the agency must put the entire record of its investigation, with evidence and proof, before the court, so that Patel’s anticipatory bail gets cancelled on the next hearing.
He claimed that there are allegations of a Rs 5,000-crore scandal against Patel, involving the approval of pharmacy colleges without any physical verification.
The Congress leader claimed that 870 such colleges were approved within a span of 13 days.
“Despite the seriousness and scale of the allegations, the CBI neither arrested Patel nor summoned him. Interestingly, it told the court that it had spoken to Patel over the phone,” he alleged.
Gohil put a question to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his resolve of neither being corrupt himself nor letting others indulge in corruption. He also asked the prime minister why Patel has not been removed from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) despite such serious allegations against him.
Gohil also asked why the income-tax department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not carry out any raids at premises linked to Patel.
He demanded that BJP-affiliated members be removed from the PCI and an interim chairman — a retired Supreme Court or high court judge — appointed. The Congress leader also demanded that a new law be enacted to reconstitute the council, ensuring integrity and transparency in its functioning.
The CBI conducted searches at the premises of Patel after he was booked for alleged corruption and systemic irregularities in the inspection and approval processes for pharmacy colleges, officials said on Friday.
The action against Patel was taken based on the findings of a preliminary enquiry (PE) that showed instances of alleged corruption, control and potential manipulation in granting approvals to colleges, besides initial accusations against him of pre-election inducements and post-election nepotism.
In its enquiry based on a complaint from the Union health secretary, the CBI scrutinised the methods by which pharmacy colleges received accreditation, revealing a departure from established norms and a lack of transparency.
The agency has highlighted widespread deficiencies in 23 approved colleges in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan during Patel’s tenure as the PCI chairman. PTI SKC RC
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