Kataria probe aimed at Modi, says BJP

According to Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, the CBI prepared a note in 2010 on Amit Shah's arrest, where it "underlined the importance of Annexure C for its potential in respect of the Chief Minister also."A Anita Saluja New Delhi: The BJP top-brass on Wednesday united to back Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria, who was named in the supplementary charge-sheet in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. The BJP is apprehensive that the trail may eventually lead to the doorstep of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. As Modi is widely seen as BJP's Prime Ministerial face in the General Election slated for 2014, the saffron party is hard-pressed to fight back at the charges against the BJP leaders. Gulab Chand Kataria, who is a former Rajasthan Home Minister, becomes the second high-profile BJP leader involved in the case so far, the first being former Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah. According to Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, the CBI prepared a note in 2010 on Amit Shah's arrest, where it "underlined the importance of Annexure C for its potential in respect of the Chief Minister also." The BJP is convinced that Modi would be the next target of CBI. Amit Shah was Minister of State for Home in Gujarat, when the Cabinet charge of the Home Ministry was held by Modi during Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. At that time, Gulab Chand Kataria was the Home Minister in Vasundhara Raje Government in Rajasthan. With both Amit Shah and Kataria named in the chargesheet, the BJP feels that now the investigating agency would aim directly for Modi. BJP President Rajnath Singh on Wednesday declared that the party fully backed Gulab Chand Kataria, rejecting all charges against him, as baseless and politically-motivated. Rajasthan BJP President Vasundhara Raje, who was present at the BJP headquarters, said the BJP Central leadership and Rajasthan BJP fully backed Kataria and will back him, both legally and politically. Hitting out at CBI, Arun Jaitley said, "We now know how the CBI operates, after its true face came out before Supreme Court." Without even interrogating the former Railway Minister, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha has declared that there is no direct involvement of Pawan Bansal. There is 100 times more evidence in the appointment of Railway Board Member, said Jaitley. The Congress, he said, was misusing CBI to frame BJP leaders and the agency has one rule for Kataria and another for Pawan Bansal. There was no hope from CBI and its officials that they would conduct unbiased investigation into the matter, he said. Arun Jaitley was also dismissive of the GoM on CBI Autonomy constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as mere eyewash.