By IANS,
New Delhi : A Kolkata-based lawyer Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the sources of allegedly huge wealth of 10 Communist leaders, including Prakash Karat.
The other Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders whose sources of wealth advocate Joydeep Mukherjee wanted to be probed by the CBI include Karat’s wife and Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat and MP Nilotpal Basu.
Mukherjee, secretary of the Kolkata-based All India Legal Aid Forum, contended in his petition that these Marxist leaders claim to be merely party leaders and get a monthly sum of Rs.3,000 for party works just like other 7,000 party workers who get their subsistence allowance.
The advocate said despite such a meagre source of income, these leaders have declared assets to the tune of Rs.5 million each to the Election Commission during the 2004 general elections and the subsequent elections for the Rajya Sabha or the West Bengal assembly.
Mukherjee also sought the actual valuation of the entire assets of the CPI-M, saying that while the party values its assets at Rs.2 billion, the actual market value of these assets is not less than Rs.50 billion.
The petition was filed under article 32 of the constitution that is invoked by a petitioner in case of violation of one’s fundamental rights.
Mukherjee argued that on a similar petition filed under article 32, the apex court had ordered a CBI probe into the sources of wealth of political leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati.