By IANS,
Ranchi : The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is tight-lipped over the fresh controversy which has arisen in the 1993 bribery case to save the government of then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ruled that the JMM MPs did not have to pay tax “on donations” received from the Congress for the 1993 confidence vote in parliament, according to the case documents made available Monday.
The counsel of former MP Simon Marandi did not raise any new argument in the hearing earlier this month and simply submitted that the arguments put forth in the case of JMM chief Shibu Soren may be considered in his case also.
Marandi, one of the four JMM MPs beneficiaries of the donation, told reporters here Tuesday: “This is a very old case and I do not remember anything. Do not ask such questions which will pose health problems for me.”
Four JMM MPs — Shibu Soren, Suraj Mandal, Simon Marandi and Shailendra Mahto — had voted in favour of the Narasimha Rao government during the trust vote. Each of the JMM MPs allegedly took Rs.35 lakh to vote in the government’s favour.
Mahto later turned Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) approver in the case. Efforts to contact him failed. He is now no longer with the JMM.