I’ll quit politics if my husband is guilty: Minister on Bihar shelter home scandal
Rejecting allegations against her husband Chandeshwar Verma in connection with the Muzaffarpur short stay home scandal, social welfare minister Manju Verma on Thursday said he was innocent and being falsely implicated in the matter as he belonged to the Kushwaha community.
She said the case has already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and if her husband was found guilty, she would not only resign, but also withdraw from public life.
There have been reports of alleged involvement of the minister’s husband in Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case.
Earlier, the matter had come to light when Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) carried out a social audit of government-sponsored shelter homes for boys and girls across the state.
“At the legislative assembly today, Rabri Devi asked me to resign. Why should I do so? She is directing me to resign while she herself belongs to a family, which has criminal antecedents. Her husband has served jail term and her daughter, too, has been charged of corruption,” Verma said.
Many of her party members also have criminal background, the minister said, adding, “Raj Ballabh Yadav is in jail. We all know he is behind bars in a rape case.”
The minister said she and her husband were being implicated in the case at the instigation of the Opposition. “We are being targeted because we belong to the Kushwaha community. In fact, we have been turned into a tool to tarnish the image of the government,” she said, adding, she was the only woman in the state cabinet and has been working with responsibility.
Admitting that her husband had once visited the shelter home at Muzaffarpur, she said, “It was his first and last visit. Saheb wahan bas ek hi baar gaye the (My husband had gone there only once). In fact, he had accompanied me there.”
“We were invited to a function held in the memory of Jagdev Babu at Muzaffarpur a couple of years ago. After the function, I had visited the short stay home with my husband,” the minister said.
“Let CBI probe the matter. If found guilty, my husband will be punished. I will get him hanged. I myself will resign and withdraw from politics,” she said.
“We did not find the condition of shelter home girls satisfactory even at that time. But they did not complain or even open their mouth before me,” Verma said.
On a query over the action, if any, taken by her after the visit, the minister said she did not remember whether any action was taken. “More than two years have elapsed since the visit. In the past few years, we have been busy distributing old age pension,” she said.
The department has over hundred shelter homes but there have been no report of any irregularity at any of them, said the minister. “Even now, we have reports of irregularities at only five shelter homes while the rest of are doing well,” she added.
Verma said she did not know Brijesh Thakur, a key accused in the case. “Those who claim that Thakur was seen with my husband at Bihar Niwas, Delhi, must know the room was booked in my name. We have nothing to do with Thakur,” she said.
Earlier, the wife of an official arrested on charges of sexually assaulting inmates of the short stay home had accused social welfare department minister’s husband of frequently visiting the institution and spending “long hours in the girls’ room”.
Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
