Kushwaha appears before CBI judge, claims innocence

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Former Uttar Pradesh Minister for Health and Family Planning Babu Singh Kushwaha appeared before a CBI judge and denied his involvement in the NRHM scam.

Kushwaha said that he was not in a position to finalise the decisions about allocation of funds and work being assigned to companies and added that there were two core committees for it and he was not the head of any committee.

He said before the court on Saturday evening that the UP Chief Minister was the head of one committee and another was headed by the state chief secretary and Mayawati's decision was the final one.

He denied that he ever allocated funds for any work in NRHM. Coming out from the court at around 7.30 pm on Saturday evening, he said to the waiting media that he gave a clear picture to the court about his being innocent.
Co-accused BSP MLA Ram Pal Singh Jaiswal also told the court that he runs his private companies and no NRHM fund was siphoned by his firm.

Advocate Ajay Vikram Singh, who represents both of them, said that now CBI should interrogate UP Chief Minister Mayawati about allocation of funds in NRHM.

CBI arrested Kushwaha and Jaiswal on Saturday in the first action against politicians in the multi-crore NRHM scam in Uttar Pradesh.

The arrest of Kushwaha, who crossed over to BJP after being sacked as Family Welfare minister, and Jaiswal here came on a day when the crucial seven-phased Assembly elections in UP concluded.
Kushwaha, who was expelled by BSP in 2011 December, is one of the prime accused in the scam.