By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, (MPCC), the main Opposition Congress party in the state, on Thursday submitted a letter to the state Governor Mr. R. N. Yadav urging him to immediately sack the Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), ruled Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department, (PWD), Minister Mr. Nagendra Singh against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by a Bhopal court.
MPCC president Mr. Kantilal Bhuria in the letter said that the PWD Minister Mr. Nagendra Singh, who took oath of office by swearing allegiance to the Constitution of India, despite holding a constitutional post is absconding in the records of the police and the court of law. He said even after issuance of the arrest warrant against Singh the police is maintaining silence in the case and seems in no mood to execute the warrant, he alleged.
Madhya Pradesh PWD Minister Nagendra Singh
The state Chief Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also violated the spirit of the Constitution as he has reportedly refused to seek the resignation of the minister, the letter added.
It may be mentioned here that a court in Bhopal on Tuesday has issued arrest warrant against the PWD Minister Mr. Nagendra Singh.
The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, (ACJM), Mr. R. P. Sonkar issued the arrest warrant against PWD Minister Mr. Nagendra Singh in a 14-year-old case. The court has ordered to arrest Mr. Nagendra Singh and eight other officers and produce them on the next date of hearing which has been fixed for October 14, 2011.
It may be recalled here that Mr. Nagendra was a member of the board of directors of a private limited company, the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation, (MPTDC), in 1991-92. This company is registered in the Registrar of Companies office at Gwalior.
On September 25, 1997, Company Registrar under the Company Act had lodged a complaint in Bhopal court against the minister and other bureaucrats for intentionally not submitting the annual return of MPTDC to the Company Registrar Chamber of Commerce, Gwalior. Mr. Nagendra Singh was the chairman of MPTDC at that time. The MPTDC had to submit the annual reports till 1995 but due to continuous non-appearance of Mr. Nagendra Singh and others in the case the case was referred for hearing in the special court of ACJM R. P. Sonkar who issued arrest warrant against the accused.
Meanwhile, PWD minister Mr. Nagendra Singh has refused to resign from his ministerial post and has said that he would approach higher echelon of judiciary to sort out the matter in an amicable manner.
He said: “I was the chairman of the M. P. Tourism Corporation in 1991-92. The details of the Board’s meetings and its annual reports were presented to the registrar or not, it was the duty of officers and the corporation. The chairman of MPTDC is not responsible for it. I do not know how my name got into the old case. This matter is just about for not submitting documents in the case”. ([email protected])