Chaibasa (Jharkhand), November 14
Terming the money laundering charges against him as a "political conspiracy", former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda today said he would cooperate with the probe into them and would quit politics if they were proved to be correct.

"This (the charges) is a political conspiracy as people don't want me to succeed as an independent legislator," Koda, a Lok Sabha MP, told newsmen here.

Koda said he would continue to co-operate with the investigating agencies probing into the charges against him.

Income Tax sleuths have been questioning him on and off from October 31 in connection with the Rs 2000 crore alleged hawala transactions and illegal investments after they conducted raids in 70 premises across the country and claimed to have found evidence in the case.

The ED has issued fresh summons to Koda, the third in a week, to appear before it in Ranchi on November 19. Earlier the ED had served him summons on November 13 and 15.

Koda, who yesterday wrote to the ED expressing his inability to appear before it in Delhi owing to the ensuing assembly polls in the mineral-rich state, reached here last night.

The ED has made only one arrest - that of Vikas Sinha, the brother of Koda's aide Binod Sinha since the scam surfaced.

Koda, who was the chief minister between September, 2006 and August 2008, had won the Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat and has put up six candidates in the ensuing assembly elections.

His wife Gita is contesting the Jagannathpur assembly seat, which Koda had won in 2000 and 2005 which led to his being appointed a minister in Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda governments before he himself becoming the chief minister as an independent MLA.

He was the mines minister in the Munda regime and retained the portfolio after taking over the reins from him.

The IT department claimed that the alleged deals in the allotment of mine leases had occurred during that period. — PTI