More trouble is brewing for Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal as his family members were found to have links to one of the 13 drugs named by a Parliamentary Standing Committee as having been banned in developed countries.
One of these drugs, a Fixed Dose Combination of Pregabalin, was being manufactured at Theon Pharmaceutical Limited at Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh, where Bansal’s wife and children are directors.
Theon, registered at the minister’s Chandigarh address, has 11 directors including his wife Madhu Bansal, sons Amit Bansal and Manish Bansal, Amit’s wife Monika Bansal and Manish’s wife Shaina Bansal. Other directors are Bal Krishan Bansal, Mukesh Bansal, Lajpat Rai Bansal, Anshul Bansal and Punit Bansal.
The Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare observed that “there is no scientific evidence to show that these drugs are really effective and safe for Indian patients” and “there is no justification in withholding” expert opinions that these drugs can prove detrimental to patients’ health.
Also, the Drugs Control Laboratory in Maharashtra raised a question mark over Theon’s Merycef-C dry cough syrup. The laboratory’s report says the “content of Clavulanic acid in the sample is less (13.9 per cent of the labelled amount) than the permissible limit”. The report further said the colour of the suspension is black red and that the samples did not pass a Ph test. The report was for the periods February 2011, June 2011, December 2011 and May 2012.
BJP legal cell chairman and former Chandigarh MP S P Jain on Tuesday distributed the CD of a sting operation showing Bansal’s elder son Amit saying he has no qualms putting a price tag of `150 on a drug actually priced at `15 provided he gets a one per cent cut on the increased price.
On Railgate, the BJP leader said the CBI should act fast as it was “an open and shut case”.
He said if one promotion could mean a `10 crore bribe, it indeed was a monster scam as the Railways is the largest employer in the country. He said the party would mobilise public opinion against Bansal and move the court,if needed.
The minister’s silence proves his guilt, he further charged.