As soon as the news about CBI’s call to Mayawati for interrogation in the scam was leaked in the media, the former CM and BSP supremo accused Modi government of deliberately misusing CBI before Bihar assembly polls.

But the fact remains the act of CBI is to find out Mayawati’s role in the NRHM scam in which two CMOs were killed and one doctor was found murdered in jail.

It would be worth mentioning here that CBI inquiry into NRHM was ordered by Allahabad high court and several persons have been arrested including Babu Singh Kushwaha, who has been minister Mayawati government and her close lieutenant. Senior IAS officer Pradeep Shukla was also arrested along with several important persons.

Now Mayawati has argued that political motives were clearly evident since the reason why after four years all of a sudden CBI decided to summon her, while persons responsible Babu Singh Kushwaha was already behind the bar, reeked of vendetta. She alleged that Modi government wanted to mount pressure on her before Bihar polls as her party was contesting all the seats.

But in political circles it is being talked about that CBI in fact decided to talk to Mayawati following disclosure made by Yadav Singh in yet another inquiry that NRHM money was diverted to companies owned by Yadav Singh and those belonging to close relatives of Mayawati.

It would be worth mentioning here that Yadav Singh, who was engineer in Noida Authority, had been very close to Mayawati when she was the chief minister. Now CBI is probing the cases of alleged financial bungling by Yadav Singh following Allahabad high Court order.

The debate is now on the timing of the CBI decision to summon Mayawati to find out about her alleged involvement in NRHM scam.

However, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad refuted Mayawati’s charge and maintained that there was no pressure from his government on the CBI.

Similarly, BJP state president Luxmikant Vajpai said that how could Mayawati refuse to talk to CBI in whose regime 74 FIRs were filed and her close lieutenant Babu Singh Kushwaha was jailed.

But at the same time, political analysts also argue about the misuse of CBI by BJP government at the centre to counter rivals in UP.

It is being argued that the manner in which Samajwadi Party all of a sudden decided to part company from Nitish-Lalu Yadav alliance in Bihar reeks of pressure from the BJP-led Centre.

The insiders say that CBI was used as involvement of certain important functionaries in Yadav Singh episode has come to light. That is why Akhilesh Yadav government had filed petition in Supreme Court against Allahabad high Court order for CBI probe. The Supreme Court had not rejected the petition but reprimanded the state government for opposing CBI probe in the case of corruption.

Political observers opine Modi government is also using CBI to counters main rivals in UP. Samajwadi Party and BSP before Mission 2017 assembly polls as UPA government had dealt with them previously. (IPA)